Wokingham Borough Mayor meets artists at private view in Mall gallery
A month-long display of artwork by clients of Woodley Age Concern Day Centre in Wokingham Borough Council’s Mall Gallery in Shute End has been celebrated at a private viewing.
The Sharing Visions and Voices artwork was produced by 14 regular users of the centre during an art project that ran in November last year. The 10-week project combined drama workshops with visual art forms, such as painting and collage, as a way of enhancing the participants’ lives through art.
The centre clients and staff who took part in the project were invited to the private view on Wednesday March 21, along with Wokingham borough Mayor Cllr Angus Ross and representatives of ITHACA, who co-ordinated the project. ITHACA is a charity working in Oxfordshire and Berkshire linking the arts to people with disabilities, including those with identified mental health needs, learning difficulties or physical and sensory impairments, as well as older people.
The artwork will be display until Friday April 13, from 8.30am to 5pm every weekday.
Patricia Steinhardt, Wokingham Borough Council’s art development manager, said: “This project is a wonderful example of how the arts really makes a difference. The exhibition demonstrates how creative activities can make people feel good and enhance their lives. One lady, who is in her 80s, said as she looked at her art framed on display, ‘I never realised I was an artist’ and that sums up what it is about: if we can stay active and creative, life continues to offer unexpected discoveries about ourselves and fosters a healthy outlook.”
The project was supported by Wokingham Borough Council’s community care services, Woodley Older People’s Forum and Woodley Age Concern and was sponsored by Wokingham Borough Cultural Partnership.
Cllr Ross said: “The artwork on display is delightful and it was a privilege to meet the talented people behind the exhibition at the private view. The joy those who took part in the project had clearly got from the sessions, and the pleasure their work has given visitors to The Mall, is truly inspiring and I would like to thanks the day centre staff, ITHACA and the day centre clients themselves, for their hard work on the project. I hope they continue to develop these new found talents.”
The Sharing Visions and Voices artwork was produced by 14 regular users of the centre during an art project that ran in November last year. The 10-week project combined drama workshops with visual art forms, such as painting and collage, as a way of enhancing the participants’ lives through art.
The centre clients and staff who took part in the project were invited to the private view on Wednesday March 21, along with Wokingham borough Mayor Cllr Angus Ross and representatives of ITHACA, who co-ordinated the project. ITHACA is a charity working in Oxfordshire and Berkshire linking the arts to people with disabilities, including those with identified mental health needs, learning difficulties or physical and sensory impairments, as well as older people.
The artwork will be display until Friday April 13, from 8.30am to 5pm every weekday.
Patricia Steinhardt, Wokingham Borough Council’s art development manager, said: “This project is a wonderful example of how the arts really makes a difference. The exhibition demonstrates how creative activities can make people feel good and enhance their lives. One lady, who is in her 80s, said as she looked at her art framed on display, ‘I never realised I was an artist’ and that sums up what it is about: if we can stay active and creative, life continues to offer unexpected discoveries about ourselves and fosters a healthy outlook.”
The project was supported by Wokingham Borough Council’s community care services, Woodley Older People’s Forum and Woodley Age Concern and was sponsored by Wokingham Borough Cultural Partnership.
Cllr Ross said: “The artwork on display is delightful and it was a privilege to meet the talented people behind the exhibition at the private view. The joy those who took part in the project had clearly got from the sessions, and the pleasure their work has given visitors to The Mall, is truly inspiring and I would like to thanks the day centre staff, ITHACA and the day centre clients themselves, for their hard work on the project. I hope they continue to develop these new found talents.”
Wokingham Borough Council
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