Family Learning Photographic Exhibition to mark National Tackling Drugs Week
Wednesday 10 June 2009
A highly innovative photographic exhibition to mark the first year’s work of a family learning project, and highlight the Home Office’s National Tackling Drugs Week, is being launched by Lottery Chief Executive and leading Essex County Councillor on Wednesday 10th June 2009 in the foyer of Essex County Council’s HQ in Chelmsford.
Essex’s leading drug and alcohol charity Open Road successfully secured a grant from the Big Lottery Fund to pioneer with its clients a family support and learning project called Image Identity, which aims to rebuild family lives and well-being. By providing structured activities the project has brought vulnerable families together through learning and creativity with courses in photography and digital imaging. The project has been in collaboration with Harland Payne Photo.
The resulting exhibition is a collection of some of the work completed so far by the participants like 12 year old Dylan and his dad, Chris; or mother Linda. Targeted on families and individuals living with the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol the project has allowed the participants to create their own special memory books and digital images reflecting the positive aspects of their lives.
As an extension of the project Harland Payne Photo have built on the idea of family based on the creation of social reportage concepts - and included a range of people from across Essex who together make up the wider Open Road Family: patrons and the Essex Drug & Alcohol Partnership (Essex DAAT) who commission Open Road to provide open access substance misuse treatment services across Essex. Participating patrons includes Clacton & Harwich MP Douglas Carswell, Colchester MP Bob Russell and former Essex High Sheriff, Lady Diana Kemp-Welch.
Although the exhibition will be on display from Monday 8th June (for one week) as part of the National Tackling Drugs Week, the exhibition will be officially launched by the Big Lottery Fund Chief Executive, Peter Wanless and Essex Cabinet member for the Environment (and with special responsibility for the Essex DAAT) Councillor Tracy Chapman.
Commenting Peter Wanless, Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund said: “I’m delighted to be part of the launch of Image Identity. This project has provided an important opportunity for children and adults to learn together and focus on positive aspects of their family life, while overcoming the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol. The resulting images are really fantastic.”
The project, which runs for a further two years, has been funded by the Big Lottery Fund's Family Learning programme.
