Six members of Imagine, the unique Stroud-based community arts studio, are showing their work at an important exhibition in Cornwall run by the St Ives Society of Artists. The exhibition showcases emerging and established artists interested in discussion around social and environmental concerns.
Jenny Hannam, who took the Stroud artists’ work to Cornwall and who volunteers at Imagine, said: “This series of paintings focuses on the depth of our emotions in our internal and external representation of the world and on the intricate balance between our inner and outer worlds. The exhibition explores the challenges we face within ourselves, our longing for love, and the masks we wear to hide our true selves when we are unable to embrace our natural authenticity. The Imagine artists embrace the ethos of the exhibition perfectly. Their contribution has made the exhibition more inclusive and well-rounded, and it has received such positive attention both locally and nationally.”
Imagine Therapeutic Arts, which opened in 2009, provides a warm, accessible and friendly space for people of every level of artistic experience and every stage of life to undergo a transformative journey through art. By harnessing the power of creativity, it empowers people to navigate life crises and discover opportunities for self-renewal and positive change, and to express the resilience of the human spirit. It provides art materials and a peaceful space to work, but equally importantly it has developed a creative-therapeutic community, a space in which studio members and facilitators work alongside one another, making the artistic process the expression of each individuality co-creating the social context.
Run by Laura Ridolfi and Hisako Simon and based at the heart of Stroud’s mill heritage between the river and the canal, Imagine is one of a number of community organisations and charities based in Fromehall Mill, which between them serve thousands of local people as well as commercial clients. Currently the Grade II-listed Mill is up for sale, and the tenants have banded together to form the Fromehall Mill Community Benefit Society to buy the building and allow them to continue to deliver safe and thriving spaces for the Stroud community. It seeks to raise £200,000 by February 2024, in order to purchase and improve the mill and create a long-term programme of preservation and community led development; and to raise the money it invites any service user or member of the wider community to invest in shares.
Siobhan Baillie, MP for Stroud, recently spoke about Fromehall Mill in the House of Commons, describing it as “brilliant… a multi-business powerhouse”.
