Belfry Exhibition October 2011
Exploration was first publicly exhibited at the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill, Surry.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/explophase2/with/5638408291/
Here our press release:
Striking art exhibition at the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill, 8th – 16th October 2011
(Most work created by people with learning disabilities and multiple needs)
Visitors to the Belfry Shopping Centre can bag a beautiful piece of artwork and do good at the same time. A truly unique art exhibition and sale will be held at the Belfry Centre in Redhill 8 – 16 October. Shoppers will find acrylic works on canvas which are stunning, expressive and full of energy and colour – all the more amazing since they are the work of adults with a learning disability who took part in a ground-breaking visual art project called Exploration, run by artists Nickova Behling and Sue Sargeaunt. Piloted at the Colebrook Day Services in Redhill in 2009 [3], Exploration is an innovative visual arts process, which is liberating, joyful, expressive, and playful – a process which goes beyond the usual patterns of engagement and breaks with convention.
The high quality works are for sale ranging in price from £100 to £600. All proceeds will go straight back into the project to enable the artists to continue their work. Exploration aims to ensure that more people – who are usually excluded from visual art experiences – can benefit from this unique process and the fantastic results it gets.
Nickova Behling, Exploration director said, “The works produced during Exploration stand on their own and are a testament to the creative spirit that lies within us all regardless of disability. The project participants got involved in their work with energy and enthusiasm, exploring and expanding their creativity with each new session. I hope the profound results we have been able to achieve through the Exploration process will benefit many more people in Surrey.”
Special Launch on Monday 10th October from 3 – 5.30 pm, to celebrate World Mental Health Day http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_mental_health_day/en/index.html.
[3] In partnership with Colebrook Day Services, Surrey County Council, Redhill, http://www.surreycc.gov.uk
[4] In 2008 visual artist Nickova Behling was commissioned to produce work at the Colebrook Day Service for people with learning disabilities, in Redhill, Surrey. This residency lead to a collaboration with artist and support worker Sue Sargeaunt during the following years which inspired Exploration in 2009. Exploration enabled people on the autistic spectrum and people with mild to moderate learning disabilities, including those classed as people with ‘challenging behaviour’ and ‘complex needs’ (often referred to as ‘people with multiple needs’) to take part in a ground-breaking painting-based visual art project.
