The Hidden Revealed gathers a mix of painting, drawing and printmaking made by patients from the three Adult Acute Admission wards at Gartnavel Royal Hospital and patients of the Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit, along with work made by Project Ability ReConnect participants. All are welcome to this exhibition.
Inpatients attending Project Ability Art Workshops have again been invited to display their artwork at The Hub in Gartnavel Royal Hospital. Visual Arts Workshops have been running on a weekly basis over the last year to support the mental health recovery and wellbeing of patients using the acute psychiatric services of the hospital. Sometimes people wish to keep the artwork they produce and other times they might be keen to put their work forward for exhibition and are excited about the prospect of displaying their art.
The weekly workshops always have a theme on offer to provide a starting point and a structure for those seeking one. This could be something like a fantastic collection of animal etchings in an encyclopedia, a collection of potted plants with striking leaf patterns or examples of how to draw trees in the landscape for instance. Other times we might focus on a specific medium or technique, like how to produce block prints with layers of different coloured inks or how to build a slab pot out of clay.
Often participants will engage with the suggested theme but equally often they will have their own themes and directions they wish to follow. The aim therefore is to provide a focus and structure while allowing scope and freedom to explore and create.
There has been a great deal of positive feedback from the sessions with patients frequently saying how stimulating or relaxing it has been to create artwork in the space. The group has hosted some very accomplished artists and also people who regularly express the joy in rediscovering the pleasure of making art, which for some is something they may not have experienced since childhood.
Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival
This exhibition is part of SMHAF! This year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival takes place across Scotland from 10 – 27 October 2024, exploring the theme of ‘In/Visible’.
We are so delighted The Hidden Revealed is included in this year’s busy programme of events exploring how the arts and creativity can support people to live mentally healthier lives.
View SMHAF’s page for The Hidden Revealed and browse the wider programme on their website.