Service user gallery unveiled
As part of Learning Disability Week, a gallery wall featuring original artwork by services users with a learning disability has been unveiled at the Jaffray Centre in Erdington.
The project was initiated following the success of a BCHC Charity funded Arts in Culture and Health project in 2023, which culminated in a gallery opening at The Greenfields in Kings Norton.
Service users who are supported by the staff and services provided at the Jaffray Centre - which serves the north and west of the city - were keen to replicate something similar.
Thanks to continued funding from BCHC Charity, art supplies were given to service users to use either in group sessions or at home.
Service user Poppy has been enjoying art for years and was keen to get involved. She said: “When I feel low, it helps me to express my feelings. I particularly like drawing and colouring.
She added: “I believe that art can help people get through things. I have been in and out of hospital since I was 14 but art has helped me to carry on and live my life.”
The gallery was opened by Hardip Deu, divisional director for Learning Disability Service and Lorraine Galligan, chief of nursing and therapies.
Hardip said: “Learning Disability Week’s theme is ‘Do you see me?’ – which is all about being heard, seen and valued – and that is a really important message in everything we’re trying to do with our service users.
“This gallery is a credit to our artists – a celebration of what they have achieved, while also expressing the barriers they face in their daily lives.”
Find out more about our Learning Disability Services on our website.
Watch a short video of the gallery opening on our Instagram page.
