Yourway Support - Members Exhibition

Saturday 24th - Thursday 29th November

Host Galleries are proud to collaborate with 'Yourway', a local support facility for people with learning disabilities.

To be opened by The Lord Mayor of Plymouth during a VIP preview launch in the gallery on Friday 23rd 3.00 - 5.30 pm.

The Studio has been the centre piece of Yourway Support’s day opportunities for five years, with its new session leader - Julie Beer, it has moved on in ways that no one had envisioned before.

Within the walls of The Studio attendees feel safe and encouraged to look inside themselves for the inspiration which Julie brings out from them with fun positivity and art.

The clients who use Yourway all have a learning disability, which they are turning into ‘different abilities’, using their art and creativity to produce the pieces of work which will be on display during this mini exhibition in the gallery.

Whether it is painting, cement creations or resin art, Julie has been able to inspire the clients to step outside their comfort zones and the barriers of their disabilities, get their hands, and sometimes their clothes, dirty and try techniques they didn’t know existed.

Art isn’t a science, and when things don’t quite go how they were expected, the clients and Julie look for fun ways around the problem. Solutions which, more often than not, add a new aspect to the project, encouraging the customers to overcome their fears of ‘failure’ and showing that there are no mistakes, just happy accidents.

The Studio’s Session Leader, Julie Beer, was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome several years ago but, using art to aid her recovery, she went on to work with Special Educational Needs pupils at a Plymouth school for twelve years, before walking into Yourway’s studio one day with an idea for using their space for children’s after school and holiday sessions.

Seeing Julie’s potential, Yourway offered her a position and within a few weeks she was running sessions for adults with learning disabilities and expanding Yourway’s remit by offering after school art sessions for local children. She also runs therapeutic art/respite sessions for local carers who are looking after children or other family members