Sheana & Mr Ian Blakey KCFM Radio Station Hull
The ARTHOUSE is a social enterprise that creates and exhibits
artworks for sale in printmaking and painting which celebrate
the skills and talents of adults with learning disabilities,
many of whom live with severe epilepsy and physical disabilities.
Over 3 million adults across Britain live with learning disabilities.
Many feel the work they create is deemed of little value and
often made redundant.
The ARTHOUSE highly regards the skills and abilities of all
its artists. The work offers an insight to a way of seeing the
world, has humour warmth and will inspire us all.
The freedom of expression and uninhibited mark making of the
ARTHOUSE artists makes for a very desirable, engaging and honest
artwork as seen in outsider, raw or naïve art forms.
Artists of varying abilities all have the opportunity to work
in a safe caring environment creating artworks to be shown and
sold at exhibition. The ARTHOUSE studio houses excellent facilities
for artists to work in screenprinting, painting and mixed media.
The majority of ARTHOUSE artists experience severe epilepsy.
To reduce epileptic seizures for those living with epilepsy,
it is important the brain is occupied, enthused and interested.
This is part of the service we provide.
We aim to give artists a sense of self-worth, develop pride
and confidence by showing the possibilities of what can be achieved.
Money from the work sold goes back into the project for further
development and The ARTHOUSE artists all receive incentive payments.
We hope the unique individual artwork will make you smile.
The Art of Innocence
By Rachael Taylor
At first glance, the artwork created by The Arthouse appears
childish. But on closer inspection there is a string of adult
themes running through the wobbly line drawings and crude paintings:
sexual relationships, alcohol, music and dealing with the depression
that comes with a life scarred by epilepsy.
The Arthouse is not a regular art collective, if such a thing
exists. It is part of the Meath Trust, a charitable organisation
set up to help people suffering from severe forms of epilepsy
to lead normal lives. The artistic arm of the organisation,
The Arthouse, groups together artists of varying abilities and
helps them to express themselves through art, creating original
canvasses and a range of consumer products.
“We just fell in love with it and the concept behind
it,” says Bohemia Galleries director Sheana Eccles. The
York gallery bought the entire range of The Arthouse paintings
at Spring Fair and the love affair has been fruitful, with the
whole collection nearly sold out in little more than a month
by KCFM radio station Hull Bohemia insisted that they had some
work for the new show see below.
Telling It Like It Is
But it is less naivety, than a lack of complication in dealing
with very complicated issues. The simplistic honesty of the
messages delivered through the art makes the products strikingly
different to anything else of the market. One design by Sarah
Harbott, which The Arthouse has splashed across one of its greetings
card designs, states “My boyfriend is nice to me, we like
listening to music, I like a bare bum”. This innocent,
no-nonsense approach to adult issues is refreshing.
While some of The Arthouse artworks are quite simplistic, other
artists such as Jonathan Klinger have more refined talents.
However, due to the nature of the disability that brings them
to The Arthouse, it can be difficult to coax them into creating
commercially viable designs.
“When I first came to The Arthouse, all Jonathan would
paint was pictures of The Beatles,” says The Arthouse
manager Becky Sheridaidah. “It was an uphill struggle
to get him to move away from that, but now he creates a whole
range of pictures.”
Although there are leading lights in the pack, other artists
are not made to feel left out. While Kilger and the other more
technically skilled members will make drawings for the base
of paintings, others will paint over them with colour or roll
clay to make ceramics. “There are jobs to suit all abilities,”
says Sheridaidah. “And then when it sells, they’ve
all been involved.”
When the products do sell, the artists get 25 per cent of the
sale price, which is split evenly between them, and the other
75 per cent is ploughed back into funding The Arthouse. Although
the amount is minimal that the artists receive, it helps to
fuel a sense of independence that they would perhaps not have
been able to get otherwise. Also, the artists can’t make
too much money from the project as it would affect their benefits.
The problem that is now facing The Arthouse, is not a lack
of talent or strong product lines, but one of scale. One of
the delightful aspects of the collection – and one that
is a strong trend across the board in retail – is that
each piece is designed and made in the UK, often by hand in
the workshop in Godalming. However, this puts a serious limitation
on the volume of products The Arthouse can manufacture.
