A professional exhibition of art work by The Mildmay Collective, a group of 30 extra care residents, families and staff, is set to go on display at The Printhouse Gallery in east London for one month.
From 23rd April to 23rd May 2015, visitors to the gallery will be able to see Wheelin N Dealin – a range of works by members of the collective, many of whom are adults suffering from degenerative illnesses.
Co-led by artists Amy Pennington and Clea House, who have been in residence at a Notting Hill Housing Trust extra care home since June 2014, the group has produced work that reflects the struggles of living with these conditions, their perception of societies view on them and the political and social nuances of living in a care home.
Commenting on the project, Marian Howell, Activities Coordinator at Mildmay, said: “Both Clea and Amy spent much time getting to know the residents before embarking on any art project – this has then reflected in the wide range of art forms that has been produced – from animation film to dressing up and photography.”
The mixed media show includes a series of political text based prints, a knit bombed wheelchair, and the remnants of a protest soap opera. A central piece of the exhibition is a vending machine that stocks purchasable artworks that reference the collective’s work from the past year.
Jenny Kay, Councillor for the London Borough of Islington, added: “We are proud to support The Mildmay Collective’s work in engaging, through art, adults who have a range of disabling conditions in our ward. When we met some of the members they were passionate about how the project had helped improve their wellbeing, allowed them to think creatively and gain the confidence to enter new environments.”
The core collective members are: Daniel Berhane, Jean Curtis, Gary Dunn, Sue Finn, Clea House, Tracey Musgrave, Tony Neville, Amy Pennington, Tony Neville, Helen Theodore, Alex Wright, Mia Wright, Michael Waller.
In mid May the collective will host ‘Speed Dating with The Collective’ this is a chance to find out more about the collective, the challenges, expectations and any another questions that you would like to discuss.
