Athlone artists feature in mental health art exhibition closing this week

Art made by Athlone-based mental health service participants has been displayed in an exhibition titled It’s Never Just Black or White.

The exhibition comes as the culmination of the Our Vision Our Voice programme which ran from May to October of this year.

Featuring two unique pieces from eachof the 24 participants, It's Never Just Black or White exhibition is running until this Friday, October 18 in the at The Atrium of the Westmeath County Council Buildings in Mullingar.

Since it's inception in 2016, the Our Vision Our Voice project has been facilitated by Rosaleen Heavin, Visual Artist and HSE Occupational Therapists.

Originally named Photovoices, the programme began by using cameras to explore participants’ lived experiences of mental health.

Since then it has developed to include various media such as photography, painting, ceramics, writing, and video, showcasing the individual recovery journeys.

This year Rosaleen encouraged participants to start with black and white art, exploring techniques like pencil drawing, shading, and acrylic painting.

This approach helped them become more comfortable with different art forms as a means of expression and understand the connection between colour and mood, gradually incorporating colour into their works.

Our Vision Our Voice is an inclusive art program co-produced to support individuals with mental health challenges on their recovery journey.

By nurturing their abilities, teaching new skills, and promoting independence and inclusion, this program has been a beacon of hope.

Funded by Creative Ireland and the Westmeath Arts Office for many years, it aims to make art accessible and integral to people’s lives.