Mental health patients’ work spotlighted in Weymouth art exhibition

A unique art exhibition will showcase the creative talents of local mental health patients on Tuesday (26 April) at Weymouth College.

Organised by Dorset HealthCare’s Weymouth and Portland Community Mental Health Team (CMHT), the exhibition has been named ‘Coming out of the shell’. It will feature contributions from people who find that expressing themselves through different forms of art helps their mental health or supports their recovery.

The exhibition will be full of paintings, drawings, poetry and music pieces. And in some cases will include accompanying text from the artist explaining the inspiration behind the work and the benefits art can bring.

Jonai da Silva, a community support worker for the Trust’s CMHT in Weymouth and Portland, said:

“Many of the people in our care have very serious mental illnesses, and sometimes art can be very therapeutic.

“Our team organised the event to celebrate the talents and achievements of our patients, rather than focus on the challenges they are faced with. We are very excited to show local people what flair and creativity our patients have.”

Sarah Case, 52 from Weymouth, who has been supported by Weymouth and Portland CMHT for five years will be displaying her art at the exhibition. This will include some table coasters plus some paintings. She said:

“I find a lot of enjoyment from art and it’s a great way for me to get creative and express myself.

“The coasters on display highlight words that myself and some friends use to talk about mental health and all link together. I named the piece ‘mental health in our words’. I took on this project during lockdown to keep me busy and distracted.”

The display will be located in the foyer area at Weymouth College and 12 patients are contributing to the exhibition.

Local people are being invited to attend the free exhibition at Weymouth College, located on Cranford Avenue (DT4 7LQ), anytime between 9am – 5pm to view the art on display.

For more information about the art exhibition, please contact Jonai da Silva on 07717816040.