disability, set up by an artists’ printing studio, has culminated in a public exhibition in County Down in Northern Ireland.
Interhuman marks the completion of the first of a two-year community engagement programme run by the Seacourt Print Workshop and supported by UK-based funders the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Featuring 70 original prints by people living with a long-term illness or disability, the exhibition will be open at the Bloomfield Shopping Centre in Bangor until 6 January.
The programme is not only designed to help participants build their confidence and develop new interests but is also involving them in research into the impact the arts have on wellbeing.
Action Mental Health, International Women in North Down, The Cedar Foundation and Positive Futures are among the 11 support groups and agencies in Northern Ireland that are involved in the research.
Robert Peters, the creative director of the Seacourt Print Workshop, said: “Seacourt’s expanding engagement programme strives to make art socially relevant to the wider community. Our experience is that the arts are particularly good at bringing people from all walks of life together in shared activity. Printmaking is uniquely accessible for everyone, irrespective of ability or experience.
“As participants develop new skills their confidence grows and their creativity blossoms conferring a real sense of personal achievement. Through our Interhuman project we hope to contribute to the growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of the arts to people’s wellbeing.”