Bristol Art Club

Bristol Art Club project

launches to promote mental wellbeing

Bristol’s Art Club invites residents across the city to get creative and submit photographs of their artworks to an online gallery showcasing local talent. The project is inspired by the Grayson’s Art Club exhibition at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, which has been visited by over 125,000 people since opening in December. Photographs of selected artworks will also be displayed on screens in the museum and on social media to celebrate the creativity of Bristol’s citizens.

Grayson Perry said: “The pandemic has had a profound impact on our mental health. It doesn’t matter if you are a professional or an amateur, art is good for you, and it can be an amazing tool for supporting mental wellbeing. I want to encourage Bristolians to start sketching, painting, sewing, sculpting, or even just tinkering. The benefits are enormous.”

Alongside Bristol’s Art Club, a programme of free creative wellbeing activities will be delivered across the city including monthly art workshops at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, a series of family activities and a programme of arts on referral workshops. A number of open access creative wellbeing sessions will be delivered in local communities including St Pauls, Barton Hill, Knowle West and Southmead. Further information on these workshops will be released in the coming weeks. Councillor Ellie King, Cabinet Lead for Public Health, Communities and Bristol One City, said: “This week is Creativity and Wellbeing Week which gives us the perfect opportunity to start talking about our mental health. We all know that arts and culture have a positive impact on wellbeing which is also evidenced by the World Health Organisation. I am looking forward to seeing people’s submissions in the online gallery, it will be a fantastic showcase of people’s creativity and I’m sure it will highlight some local talent. I’m so pleased that Public Health can fund an initiative like this which will play a part in the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.” Bristol’s Art Club and the city-wide arts and health programme has been funded by Public Health and will be delivered in partnership with arts and health partners across the city including Creative Shift CIC and Southmead Development Trust. Bristol’s Art Club is open for submissions until 4 September. The online gallery and submission form can be found at brism.us/artclub.