Art by teenagers with anxiety disorders goes on display in Lewisham

One of the featured art works. Pic: Simon Purins

Art work created by young people from Lewisham who are struggling with anxiety disorders is to go on show later this month.

The free exhibition Colours of Me will be held at Catford Library from March 21 to April 4,  and is organised by charity Talk About Art in partnership with Lewisham Virtual School and Youth First.

The artists are all children and teenagers aged 12-16, struggling with anxiety, clinical school phobia and not attending full-time education.

The exhibition will include printed t-shirts, canvas bags, drawings and decorated plaster casts with colours and symbols representing the participants and their identities.

John Bartram, Talk About Art trustee, told ELL: “We have run several exhibitions each year [..] and they are needed because children are not able to get enough exposure to art in their curriculum.”

Bartram continued: “We felt the need to provide this for them to stimulate their imagination and give them a wider perspective.”

One of the plaster casts. Pic: Simon Purins

Founded by Sir Ian Mills, who was knighted for his NHS services in 2001, Talk About Art organises annual exhibitions engaging hundreds of children and teenagers, as well as 6,000 members of the general public.

The charity recognizes that “being educated virtually creates a danger of a loss of social interaction with peers and increasing isolation, which impacts on mental health.”

The exhibition will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, Tuesday and Thursday from 8.30am to 7pm and Saturday from 9am to 5pm. For more information,  follow Talk About Art on Twitter and Facebook or on www.talkaboutart.co.uk.

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