AN exhibition of paintings and craft work by members of Mary Seacole House of people they most admired in the world had a five-day showing in the Alima Gallery, Liverpool, in April.
Entertainers and politicians were the favourite
subjects in People of the World United by Art, an
exhibition by 12 beginners whose work was guided by Support
Worker Wendy Funcks.
Traditional African dress by Ugo Eme and Victorian dress by Linda Thompson and Steven Mensah featuring the Mary Seacole House logo. The Mary Seacole portrait on the left is by Hazel Johns and the one on the right by Ugo Eme based on the only known photograph of Mary Seacole, the nursing pioneer who lived from 1805 to 1881.
Colourful interpretation of singer Bob Marley
by Nora Quarlass.
“The main aim of the exhibition was to show that people who suffer from mental distress can produce art and craft work of a professional standard,” said Wendy. “The idea of ‘colouring in' should be banished and adults should be treated as such and not children. For this reason, Mary Seacole House believes in the fundamental principal that with patience, respect, understanding and professional teaching, any of us can do anything we desire.
Four blues and jazz greats by Hazel Johns (from left): Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie Holliday and Ella Fitzgerald.
“The members of Mary Seacole House took this on board and I asked them to think of people of colour they admired in the world – people who contributed to the lives of others and were generally forgotten because of the colour of their skin.
“With this in mind, all the exhibits were produced by members who have never picked up a paintbrush or never used a sewing machine but each has their own story to tell of why they chose a particular piece.”
Wendy is now looking for other opportunities to display the work.
Support worker Wendy Funcks and four of the works (from left), Kwame Nkrumah by Steven Mensah, Mahatma Gandhi by Linda Thompson, Nelson Mandela by Pro Torkington and Sidney Poitier by Yvonne Fogg.
The project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Arts Council England, the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the Liverpool Culture Company.
