Type=image;ImageID=13485;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Priya Mistry and Stephanie Brown at the launch;TitleClass=strong;
This Way Up is a month long exhibition celebrating a year long arts and health scheme, at the Lichfield Street gallery.
Run by Creative Health (Arts & Health) CIC, it gave people in Wolverhampton and Staffordshire the chance to get away from the stress of everyday life and develop their artistic skills in relaxed workshops.
More than 50 people aged from 17 to 70 took part in the This Way Up sessions, which were held at various venues including Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford and Perton and Wombourne libraries.
A team of artists ran the workshops for people with health problems and also provided a creative outlet for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Wolverhampton.
The artists developed the workshops, exploring a variety of art forms and themes, including painting and drawing, printmaking, abstraction, still life, self portraits, upcycling, mark making, felt making, ceramics, origami, jewellery design, sculpture, surface pattern, cyanotypes, collage, narrative art and zine making.
Wolverhampton resident Stephanie Brown, who took part in the scheme, said: "The project has been brilliant, it has taken me out of my comfort zone in terms of my art and encouraged me to develop my creativity. I've made new friends and the artists have been great to work with."
Bringing their individual practices, skills, ideas and enthusiasm to the project was a team of artists: Priya Mistry, Carolyn Morton, Ildiko Nagy, Emma Price, Ben Sadler, Sarah Taylor Silverwood, Alice Thatcher and Jamila Walker.
This Way Up is funded by Arts Council England and is a partnership between Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Creative Health (Arts & Health) CIC, Refugee and Migrant Centre (Wolverhampton, The Black Country & Birmingham), Staffordshire County Council and Choices Housing Association.
The exhibition runs until Sunday 27 August and is free.
- released: Friday 11 August, 2017