Recovery Exhibition at the Institute of Mental Health

On the 6th of November we were delighted to launch the Recovery exhibition at the new Institute of Mental Health building on the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.  Over 200 people attending the viewing, the busiest opening yet!

43 artists have been selected to show their work, created in response to the exhibition’s theme of recovery, and 64 artworks are on display.  Work was entered from all over the UK and each artist has interpreted the theme in their own unique way.  Much of the work is very personal, reflecting individual journeys of recovery, but there is also work from health professionals who are supporting people with mental health issues.

At City Arts we believe that the arts can play a powerful role in people’s recovery, and have huge potential to positively affect well-being.  This exhibition makes clear the power art has to help people express ideas and emotions around difficult and challenging subjects, which are sometimes taboo and not easily addressed, such as anorexia and compulsive skin picking. Whilst much of the work raises serious questions and explores challenging issues, there are also many pieces of work that are joyful and reflect a lot of positivity. Words like healing, self-exploration, fulfillment, energy, enthusiasm, learning and creating are found throughout the artist’s descriptions of their work. The wide range of art forms including painting, drawing, photography, textiles and even a painted suit, show the scope and dynamic nature of people’s creative imaginations.

We heard many comments on the quality of the work submitted: some were struck by individual pieces of work that had resonance with aspects of their own life; others commented that the exhibition as a whole was important in terms of their personal sense of wellbeing and identity.

Congratulation to the artists that received awards this year.  Mark Lindsay received a highly commended award for his piece My psychiatrist’s answer to everything.  Mary Cecilia, Alex Cooke, Barrington Emurd Augustus and a patient at Rampton Hospital were also commended for their work.

We would like to say a huge thank you to all of the artists that submitted work, without which this exciting exhibition would not have been possible.

The exhibition will be open until May 2014 next year, so if you weren’t able to get along to the opening, or want to view it again in a less crowded environment, then you are welcome to visit during weekday opening hours between 10 – 4pm.