Take a Walk on the Wild Side
The Phoenix Project’s art show - Take a Walk on the Wild Side - opened at the Hive in Ipswich on World Mental Health Day, 10th October 2023.
The show included drawings, acrylic, oil and ink paintings, collage work, crafts, mindful writings and photography.
All of the work on show had a connection with nature. Some had been submitted by individual group members, other pieces were created during our True Thoughts creative mindfulness sessions on Friday afternoons at the Friend’s Meeting House.
The exhibition attracted groups and individual visitors including local artists and health professionals, guests from the New Skill Centre, Radio Suffolk, South Street Kids, Ipswich Community Media and the Hive community. Phoenix Project members supported the exhibition throughout the week. They welcomed guests at our private view and engaged with visitors telling them more about the work and some of the ideas and processes behind it.
The group met at the Hive the Thursday before the show opened to plan out the space and then again on the Friday to hang the work and create the beautiful Take a Walk On the Wild Side lettering.
Over the course of the week nearly fifty comments were left in the visitors book including…
“You are all so very talented. I am in awe of you all. I have loved the exhibition - so uplifting and I am leaving with a smile on my face. ”
“Some really beautiful pieces of art here. I felt very moved at times reading the stories behind the art. Really important work.”
“Absolutely delighted. Everyone really enjoyed it and got so much from it. Really proud of everyone.”
Two Phoenix Project members, Tracy and Robert, were interviewed by Cad Taylor from BBC Radio Suffolk about the show, True Thoughts and the therapeutic benefits of getting involved in making art and spending time in nature.
Cad Taylor interviewing Tracy during our private view event on Monday 9th October
We had a feedback and celebration session at the Hive on Friday 13th October and gathered a few more thoughts and impressions on the exhibition.
Robert said he liked the presentation of work on the white walls, “I reckon it looks really superb”.
The group agreed that the Hive felt like a good space for the show with all kinds of people dropping in and different groups seeing the work and using the space.
“It’s very welcoming when you walk in the door. I'm impressed by it - all the work in the cabinet and all the drawings and the paintings hung on the walls. 10/10!”
Tracy told us how she had people telling her that they really liked her work (including another group member who wanted to commission her to produce his next album cover!)…
“It really made me warm and gave me a real boost to think that somebody had looked at something I've done and said ‘that's good - I really like that’. I was really touched with the response”.
