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Diamonds in the Rough art exhibition

March 09 2011
Fine art, fine work and a social conscience


Art for beauty's sake is a good thing, but good art can be beautiful and thought-provoking at the same time. The Diamonds in the Rough exhibition that recently finished after a week-long run in a shop space in the Pavilions Shopping Centre, Birmingham, showcased the work of SIFA Fireside service users. Photography, film and poetry provided a mix of fine work with a social conscience and a platform to share experiences.

The project came about after photographer Maria Reaney, of Silverleaf Photography, approached SIFA Fireside to work with them for her final project at university. She started running fortnightly photography workshops, took photos with service users, got involved with their artwork and poetry, and created a book from her portraits of people at SIFA Fireside. After this successful partnership, Maria was invited to engage service users in a 12-week programme of digital photography and video workshops, culminating in the exhibition.

"The exhibition has brought a pride and confidence to those who took part," said Maria. "Being part of a team and working together is very important for self-esteem and social skills".

After group discussions, Bill, Keith, Ian, Jason, Darren and Ken chose Birmingham Nature Centre, the Sea-Life Centre and the Botanical Gardens. The three venues gave free entry to the photographers, and provided them with varied and interesting subject matters and a chance to try out new camera techniques and ideas.

Maria curated the exhibition, which found a home in the Inhabit pop-up tearoom run by arts group Hybrid as part of the 'Art in Empty Spaces' programme.

Bill made a video documentary about life on the streets for the exhibition after expressing an interest in taking his camera and direction skills a bit further, a decision that was encouraged by Maria. Bill said he was interested in media as a hobby when he was younger, but became "very insular" after a bad run of luck in the mid-90s. He credits SIFA Fireside with helping him get back on his feet: "My interests came back, and my confidence came back," said Bill, who is now trying to break into scriptwriting.

Although the exhibition is now finished, it may well find another home in Birmingham soon, and prints of the artwork can be bought for a limited time from the Inhabit tearoom in The Pavilions Shopping Centre, Floor 2.

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