Transform Mental Health CIC creates art exhibition about Ukraine War at Newark Spotlight Gallery
A new art exhibition exploring the Ukraine war will be showcasing the work of artists from the UK, Ukraine and refugees all over the world.
The Echoes of Resilience exhibition is open at Newark Town Hall’s Spotlight Gallery and includes art such as paintings, sculptures, poetry and textiles.
The aim behind it is to highlight the war and its associated trauma and mental health links, and to bring a visual collection of art as an exhibition.
Early in 2024, Transform Mental Health CIC received a small grant from Nottinghamshire County Council for the development of an exhibition on the Ukraine War.
Deborah Hill of Transform Mental Health said: “No one escapes the ravages of war.
“War is directly linked to mental health ranging from anxiety and depression, through to more serious conditions such as PTSD.
“We feel honoured as an organisation to have been able to curate these fantastic pieces of art that reflect the war and also past wars and how all war has an effect on our mental health.
“This is just the beginning we want to work more to help with issues around mental health.”
Before coming to Newark, the exhibition opened in Nottingham in September, at the Institute of Mental Health in a gallery managed by The Nottinghamshire Health Care Trust and Transform Mental Health CIC.
The project was organised by Transform Mental Health, a CIC set up to work with many different cohorts and projects and one of its goals is to help refugees and asylum seekers.
Mrs Hill added: “We hope to reflect on the struggles refugees face leaving their country and also how they have at times come together to create pieces of art like the Textile Banner which is featured in the current exhibition.
“The UK government is supporting the refugees from Ukraine by highlighting visually the war we keep alive the journey that many have been on to get to safety in the UK.
“We feel their story and the story of the war reflect our aims for mental health and by highlighting this hopefully, people will seek help to alleviate mental health issues.”
Transform Mental Health was lent the sunflower textile banner from Newark College for the exhibition.
Artists have been based both in the UK and in Ukraine, but some of them are refugees who fled from the war.
All the pieces have been curated to reflect different aspects of the war, from The Newark Friendship banner to the haunting “Cold February 2020” painting by Yula Dukka, which was painted after she fled Ukraine to the UK, as well as an abstract by David Hunns who hosted Ukrainian people in his home and wanted to give back to the community.
In the future, they are hoping to create more projects including an oral history project that records the journeys that people have had from Ukraine to the UK.
The exhibition is running until December 14.
