‘Together Stories - Tales from the Community’ Exhibition in Barnstaple
This year, the Devon Mental Health Alliance and Evolving Events CIC have teamed up with Studio Kind for the ‘Together Stories - Tales from the Community’ exhibition. Following the success of the 'Art and Mind' exhibition last year, they are showcasing stories from Devon voices through a range of creative mediums including art, poetry, and spoken word.
This week marks the final stretch of the ‘Together Stories’ Exhibition hosted in Studio Kind, Barnstaple. The exhibition is accompanied by a live 'Sound Lounge' every Friday 4pm-5pm. The Sound Lounge is a themed session where people can contribute a song, poem, story or anecdote relating to the weekly theme. This week the theme is ‘Food - From Hunter to Gatherings’.
Phil Harris, DMHA’S Community Development Lead for North Devon, explained the importance of platforming community voices. He shared "For me, the vital element is the sharing of stories. This is powerful. Stories are how we reclaim our people. Stories help us see and reclaim our humanity. Our communities are all of us. They help us see what we can give to each other instead of worrying about what we might lose. Stories help us find understanding and value, inspiration, and truth."
“Our stories link us together, they are the fabric of who we are, they help us share, create, empathise and encourage each other.”
Phil Harris, Community Development Lead - North Devon (Devon Mental Health Alliance)
We also spoke with Laura from host venue Studio Kind about what this event has meant for the local community. Laura explained “After working with DMHA on an exhibition last year and seeing how much the opportunity to share individual stories from our community meant to people, we’re thrilled to be able to deliver a project like this again. There are people here in North Devon who have all kinds of different life experiences and show strength, resilience, vulnerability, care and a huge amount community spirit - and I think that really shows in the creative outputs of all the work by these groups in ‘Together Stories’. At the gallery, day-in day-out, we see how much art and creativity can be a powerful way to heal, empower, and express things that can sometimes be difficult, so we’re very proud to be able to showcase that here on the heart of Barnstaple”.
Evolving Events CIC, who have co-developed the Together Stories series, added “At a time when the world seems so divided it is important to harness the power of stories and experiences that bring us together, to celebrate authenticity, resilience, humanity and unity. We have been truly moved by the positive responses from our local community, who see the importance of making art, poetry, music and creativity accessible and inclusive, which is at the heart of our values as Evolving Events.” (Evolving Events CIC)
The ‘Together Stories’ exhibition is on display at Studio Kind until this Friday (17th October). The studio is open from 12pm-5pm each day and the final Sound Lounge will be this Friday 4pm-5pm, the theme this week is ‘Food - From Hunter to Gatherings’. If you are near the Barnstaple area, don’t miss the chance to catch this special event.
To find out more, visit: Together Stories - Tales from the Community
Follow: Devon Mental Health Alliance | Evolving Events | Studio Kind