Woman In Orange

An Antidote To Solitary Art

I suffer from mental illness, am declared unfit for work, and am an artist. Art used to be a very solitary practice for me, as I imagine it is for many in my position.

Too much solitude is not good for anyone with a mental illness so with the support of my local Mental Health Day Centre we applied for a £3,000 grant to start a Mental Health Art Project which we called Centrepieces.

Amongst other things, the money went on putting on an exhibition of work by local artists who suffered, or had suffered, from mental illness.

John Exell © 2002