International artwork on show at Forth Valley Royal Hospital

A cultural collaboration between Scotland and China has produced a stunning international exhibition which is being showcased at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

'Flyway' uses arts to promote mental health and wellbeing, and features work by artists from both countries together with organisations working in the field of mental health.

Funded by the British Council, the pieces explore topics such as experience of living with mental health conditions, the interconnections between people and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It focuses on the beneficial role of art and creativity in promoting recovery and its overall impact on wellbeing.

Connor Draycott, an art student from Larbert High School, who helped with the installation of the exhibitionConnor Draycott, an art student from Larbert High School, who helped with the installation of the exhibition
Connor Draycott, an art student from Larbert High School, who helped with the installation of the exhibition

The programme is organised jointly by Chinese health and wellbeing charity A Perch for the Thorn Birds, and Artlink Central.

Submissions were open to professional and amateur artists, and work was encouraged from people who had experience of mental health issues.

Read More
School pupils across Falkirk set for flu vaccines

Silvia Sinibaldi, Artlink Central’s visual arts curator for NHS Forth Valley, said: This is such an important programme, and now more than ever mental health needs to be brought to the forefront, creating the necessary spaces for conversation and connection.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Working in collaboration with a like-minded charity A Perch for The Thorn Birds in China has been an amazing experience and an opportunity for further learning and growth.

“It is exciting to be able to showcase the work of such a diverse range of talented international artists collectively in a meaningful and relevant space such as Forth Valley Royal Hospital. ”

Bowen Wu, from A Perch for the Thorn Birds, said: “Flyway is such a valuable project to us for it is the first China-Scotland mental health and art exhibition, as well as a significant endeavour to explore international communication in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

In parallel with the exhibition at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, which runs until the end of September a similar event is being staged in Shanghai (Wisdom Bay) China.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There will be a showcase of some of the audio-visual pieces, not currently included in the online or physical exhibition, during an outdoors projection at Forth Valley Royal Hospital next month.

To read more, please visit www.artlinkcentral.org/flyway

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.