Art For Health
GARETH STEVENS gives an update on recent news from Arts On Prescription.
Arts on Prescription has gone from strength to strength since it was initially founded in 2019. AOP delivers quality art activities and workshops across a full range of creative domains to all ages and has done so online (during the pandemic), in GP Health centres and more recently in their dedicated ‘Art in the Park’ building in Alexandra Park.
Project Director Tara Reddy tells me that since they took on a disused building with a large green outdoor lawn in Alexandra Park in 2022, AOP has piloted a varied program of activities to promote creativities, nature, and community engagement for those who experience mental health issues. Some of these have been exacerbated by the lockdown, the cost of living crisis and exponential increases in social and economic inequalities.
“In our first year at Art in Park, during spring and summer, we delivered multiple family-friendly events reaching out to over 1,000 residents,” she says.
This year has seen the project realise some very significant milestones. At the beginning of May, and thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, a large shed was purchased and erected next to the existing building in Alexandra Park. Needed to provide extra storage space for art materials and equipment, the wooden building was constructed by AOP’s amazing team of volunteers. Further to this, a purpose-designed metal ramp has been installed to increase accessibility to the main building.
At around the same time, AOP was proud to host their first-ever group exhibition, Who Am I? in The Exhibition Space in St Andrews Market. Although I was unable to make the private view, Tara tells me that it was an extremely well-attended event – to the extent that there was a queue outside to view the works.
When I saw the exhibition I was touched by the way that AOP participants’ and facilitators’ artworks were hung alongside each other. The work was rich, varied and expressive. Delicate pen and ink drawings of birds were interspersed with more exploratory collages and monoprints. Embedded in all the work was AOP’s commitment to providing participants with a very wide range of material practices and processes. The photographs of ceramic tiles made as part of the Tile Tale of Trinity Triangle embodied the community ethos of the project. The original ceramic murals can be seen in the furthest reaches of Gotham Alley and are well worth a visit.
For many contributors, the show provided their first experience of exhibiting works to the public and Tara explains how this provided them with important validation and boosted their confidence.
I was fortunate enough to meet with Daisy Bishop for whom AOP has been transformational in her life. Tara talked of her, and other AOP participants, with such pride and love. Daisy wouldn’t mind me saying that she has been through tough mental health issues that resulted in severe anxiety and discomfort with social situations; now she describes AOP as her second family. “The support I get from everyone in the group is lovely – it makes me feel a part of something and loved,” she tells me. As a direct result of her experiences at, and the support she received from, AOP she is now studying her Level 3 course in Art and Design at Hastings College and hopes to move on to a Foundation Course next year. She not only participates in the many varied workshop activities that AOP organises but also volunteers to help support them herself.
Daisy explains that producing art helps her to feel calm and purposeful. When ‘in the zone’ she can build the strength and resilience to manage her inner world more effectively. “When I first joined I was anxious for weeks until I got used to the people there. No one forced me to say or do anything I wasn’t comfortable with, such as speaking in front of everyone or showing my artwork. Over time I became more relaxed around them and started showing my work. I have made some long-lasting friendships with a lot of the people at AOP and I love them all. I am so grateful to be involved in this as I feel part of a community … and a family.”
For more information go to artsonprescription.org
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