The World As We See It - An Exhibition of Photovoice in Skipton
The exhibition of Photovoice “The World As We See It” that was created with our friends at Exclusively Inclusive has been on display at Skipton Town Hall since January 2022.
Exclusively Inclusive is made up of a wonderfully diverse set of characters - many of whom have faced huge barriers including disability and lived experience of mental health.
The group decided that they wanted their Photovoice project to challenge existing stereotypes and misconceptions that they have experienced in their lives, with the aim of changing perceptions of society and often the services that are intended to be supportive.
The exhibition will be on until early May 2022 but don’t worry if you can’t make it - this is just the beginning of a process of sharing and engaging with a wider audience. We hope to have many more opportunities to share this work over the coming months, in the meantime take a look at the video from our opening event!
This project brought people within the group together to share their stories, experiences and become even better connected.
It also gave the opportunity for those who viewed the exhibition a window into the world as seen through the eyes of people who have a disability, lived experience of mental health and a variety of other life experiences.
As Exclusively Inclusive so brilliantly say “We believe that loneliness is the only real disability and a barrier to health, wellbeing and happiness”.
The images were created over the course of a couple of months during late summer/autumn 2021 you can see a blog I wrote at the time HERE.
The group took part in photowalks to explore their surroundings and to develop confidence in taking photographs. We looked at how images are used in the media to portray events and tell stories as well thinking about our own experiences of life and how to present them through photographs.
Each person then chose a set of themes to explore through their photographs - these included passions, interests and causes that are important as well as celebrating the people and places that matter and raising awareness of challenges and issues that impact their lives.
We asked people attending the exhibition to share their thoughts with us - here’s what some of them said:
How did the photos in the exhibition make you feel?
Inspired | Reflective | Happy and connected to the people who took the photos
What did you enjoy most about the exhibition?
The passion for beauty | The honest, raw look at life | The togetherness
What do you think you might do or change as a result of the exhibition?
Looking for the beauty more myself | Be straight with anyone with a disability | Get my art stuff out
It very much feels as though we have just scratched the surface of what’s possible here. We are currently exploring ways that we might dig deeper into some of the stories people have shared as well as thinking about how we can reach a bigger audience with the work that has been created too. Watch this space for details!