The Friendship Circle’s Art Therapy Club proudly hosted an exhibition of their work raising £650.
The Friendship Circle’s recent art exhibition saw a fabulous evening of amazing artwork for over 100 Friendship Circle members and guests, showcasing some incredible talent from The Friendship Circle’s weekly Art Therapy Club. All the artwork was on sale and raised over £650 for the Art Therapy Classes.
With the invaluable help of Art Gallery Owner, Richard Goodall and Artist and Art Therapy Teacher, Chava Erlanger The Bayit on Singleton Road was transformed into a professional gallery setting, giving members of all abilities the perfect opportunity to exhibit their work.
Guest Artist Daniel Adler from Southport came along to exhibit some of his incredible intricate pieces treating everyone to a live painting demonstration, while Friendship Circle member Avi Pash displayed a wonderful collection of photographs of Manchester City Centre of which 18 were sold that evening.
When asked about how the members of the Art Therapy Club felt while creating their pieces Chava said: “The fact that they knew that the artwork was going to be displayed and the community would see it gave them a sense of purpose and a reason to come together in the sessions.”
Michaela, an Art Therapy Club member said: “I get all excited for the Monday sessions and I look forward to them all week! I enjoy it, it makes me feel calm and relaxed.” After being asked how it felt to see her art on the wall during the exhibition she added: “I was all excited! I kept showing everyone my art. I felt proud and I felt like I had achieved something great. I have never had the opportunity to do something like this before! I thought I wasn’t clever enough, now I know that I am!”
Art therapy can greatly help people express themselves as their feelings are drawn upon to fuel creativity and to be voiced among an accepting group. Chava says: “We don’t therapize with them as you’d imagine in traditional therapy sessions, art therapy is more a safe space for people who want to open up. It’s also a great way to connect the body and mind. When engaging with materials like clay, the feel and scent of the clay in their hands, the sucking sound, is a sensory experience which helps people connect to their physical beings.”
The exhibition also featured work by pupils from Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School and Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox, who had benefitted from The Friendship Circle’s Disability Education Programme. Their projects focused on friendship, disability, and difference which they learned about in class.
When asked about the Art Therapy Club members Chava said: “I think that people have to learn to look at past people’s exterior, their disabilities and difficulties.
Because I think down beneath, we all share the same desires and passions. That’s something we all have regardless of our physical or mental abilities. So, if you look past that, the unconditional love you get back from the members is priceless.”
Programme Director, Etsy Bruck added: “Stepping back and watching the support and encouragement that members and volunteers are all giving to each other while working on art is really special. We all go through various things in our life and the people around us are the ones who help us get through, the art therapy programme facilitates just that!”