Exhibition by artists from a Bristol mental health charity opens on 4th September with an introduction from George Ferguson CBE.

Bristol based charity Studio Upstairs will be opening ‘Drawing Through // Line’ an exhibition of work from the Studio Upstairs artists community, on 4 September at Philadelphia Street Gallery in Quakers Friars, Bristol. The exhibition runs from 4-9 September, 10am-7pm Tuesday-Saturday and 11-5 on Sunday.

The preview for the exhibition will be held on 4 September 6 -9pm with an introduction from George Ferguson CBE. The event is open to all with no invitation necessary.

This is the first of three exhibitions from ‘Drawing Through’, a project supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Drawing Through is a year-long project which has allowed Studio Upstairs to recruit and work with an artist in Residence and an external curator to run workshops and talks throughout 2012.

Studio Upstairs is an artist’s studio and therapeutic community that provides artistic resources and therapeutic support to adults experiencing mental and emotional distress. It is a place where people can use art as a catalyst for personal and social change.

Working with artist in residence Alice Jones, guest curator Jack Gibbon and local writer Cedar the members of Studio Upstairs Bristol have been examining different methods of drawing and exploring the different ways in which mark making can enrich their artistic practice. The aim of Drawing Through was to give the Studio Upstairs artists the opportunity to look at new methods of drawing and to bring the work of the Studio’s artists to new audiences in Bristol.

‘Drawing Through // Line’ focuses on drawing but curator Jack Gibbon has encouraged the artists to think about the wide variety of ways in which art making can be interpreted as drawing from using pencil and graphite to sculpture and painting.

‘Drawing Through // Line’ is the first of three exhibitions which mark the culmination of the project. ‘Drawing Through // Open’ will be held at Studio Upstairs, Hanover Place, Bristol from 12-14 October to coincide with World Mental Health Day. ‘Drawing Through // Narrative’ will be at The Parlour Showrooms, College Green from 1-7 December