Open Arts Celebrates 10 Years

Open Arts, a charitable community arts and mental health project, managed by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) is celebrating ten years of helping people with their recovery through art.

Everyone is invited to join in the tenth anniversary celebrations. There are lots of exhibitions and courses planned throughout the year:

• 14 - 18 May, Mental Health Awareness Week – Open Arts studios in Hadleigh open to the public
• June - 12 week art course starts in Hadleigh (details and how to refer/register are available at: www.openartsessex.com or call Jo Keay 07580 982462
• Summer exhibitions along the Southend Victoria Train Line in various stations and platforms
• Ongoing exhibitions at Southend Adult Community College, Southchurch Centre, Ambleside Drive, Southend-on-Sea SS1 2UP
• 30 August – 13 September, exhibition at Brentwood Art Trail
• Mural painting in Canvey Island
• Bunting project – members of the public are invited to create their own buntings and send them to Open Arts

Open Arts has been a great success for people recovering from mental illness or their carers. In the past year open Arts have delivered:

• 1849 client studio and course sessions
• 654 volunteer studio/course and community engagement sessions
• And seen 300 children attend their outreach community events
• An estimated 36,290 people attend community engagement activities

A member of Open Arts composed a piece of classical music inspired by the local area Two Tree Island in Hadleigh. Several members of the studio went on an excursion to Two Tree Island where they were inspired to paint, draw and photograph together. The images created will be put to the music and shown as a short film as part of the celebrations.

Jo Keay, Open Arts Manager said: “Open Arts continues to play a vital part in people’s recovery, developing confidence, building self-esteem and developing self-identity. The exhibitions help to bring people with mental illness into closer contact with the wider community, whilst showcasing the excellent work and providing an arena for people to shine, reducing preconceptions about mental illness and those experiencing it. We are delighted to be celebrating our tenth anniversary, a huge thank you to our funders Essex County Council Strategic Fund, Brentwood Council, EPUT, our volunteers, artists and studio managers, everyone that takes part in our courses and who continue to support Open Arts - we hope for many more years to come! If you would like to see how you can support Open Arts please visit our website www.openartsessex.com”.