Inclusive Arts exhibition opening at the RBSA in partnership with Sense

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A new exhibition at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artist’s Gallery featuring work created by Sense artists with complex disabilities opens this coming Monday.

A colourful collection of printed textiles
Art from a Making Together workshop with Annette Pug

As part of the ongoing project, ‘Making Together’, a new exhibition is opening on 9th September at the RBSA. The project is a partnership between the RBSA and Sense, a national charity which supports those with complex disabilities. This new exhibition concludes the second phase of ‘Making Together’, which is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Throughout June and July, RBSA artists Annette Pugh ARBSA and Karoline Rerrie have run one-to-one mentoring sessions at Sense TouchBase Pears in Selly Oak in collaboration with Sense art-makers Yiannis and Marteena. During these sessions, the artists explored a range of methods to create diverse and inclusive work for the exhibition.

With this exhibition, the organisers hope to increase awareness of inclusive arts, and how arts organisations can make a positive impact and provide a platform for disabled artists.

‘Making Together’ is an ongoing project. The third phase is currently underway. Artists Rob Hemp and Andrea Hannon (who form the art duo HA) are working with Sense artist Stuart. They have placed collection bins in 4 different Sense charity shops across the West Midlands and are asking for public donations. The collected items will then be used to create sculptures, which will then be on display in the participating charity shops this November. The shops involved in the project are Worcester, Kingstanding, West Brom, and Kidderminster.

The ‘Making Together: Mentor Programme’ Exhibition is on display from Monday 9th September till Saturday 12th October.
The RBSA Gallery is based at St Paul’s Square in the Jewellery Quarter. It has free admission, and is open Monday – Saturday 10:30 – 17:00, Sunday 13:00 – 17:00, and closed on bank holidays.

If you want to find out more about the project, you can follow the RBSA on their social media [Twitter] [Instagram] [Facebook], as well as their blog and the Sense blog. Additionally, HA regularly posts updates about the third phase of the project on their Twitter and blog.

Author: Jen Wilbur

A final year undergrad student studying History of Art at the University of Birmingham. They are the Undergraduate Research Scholar 2019-2020 for Midlands Art Papers.

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