Art exhibition celebrates Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre’s 21st birthday

Over 100 guests recenlty attended the opening of Henshaws 21 Exhibition at St John’s Church in Knaresborough. The exhibition features work by 21 artists from Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre in celebration of its 21st birthday this month.

Henshaws provide creative and employability workshops for people living with a wide range of disabilities. Since the centre opened in 1998 with just 50 Art Makers, the charity now supports more than three times this number every week.

Henshaws 21 exhibition includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, furniture, jewellery and even a soundscape. It has been brought to life by workshop leaders and artists Shaeron Caton-Rose and Sharon Hockin.

Sharon said:

This is the first time we’ve created an exhibition featuring so many Henshaws artists. The Art Makers’ work is beautiful and the venue and lighting give it the opportunity to shine. All of our featured artists have a disability but we don’t want their disabilities to be the first thing people think about. They are artists and their work deserves to be seen as pieces of art. I hope that through this exhibition we’ve let the artwork speak for itself and we’d love people to come and enjoy it.

Visitors to the opening had an exclusive preview of the exhibition whilst enjoying canapes generously provided by Nomad Catering by James Brown.

One of the featured artists is Jacob Pulham who creates brightly coloured, intricate drawings inspired by geometric shapes. His godmother Debbie Riley visited the exhibition on its opening night.

Debbie said:

I’m delighted to see Jacob’s work here in such a beautiful setting. All artists have their own individual styles and their unique designs really come straight off the walls as you walk around.

These pieces took me months but I loved creating them. Quilling is a repetitive process which I find quite therapeutic. I’ve not made many large pieces so it was a brilliant challenge and I am very proud of what I have achieved.

Vicky Pinder’s eye-catching abstract wall pieces made using a quilling technique are also on display.

The exhibition is open daily at St John’s Church in Knaresborough until 16th October. Entrance is free. For more information including opening times and details of all the artists exhibiting please visit Henshaws website at https://www.henshaws.org.uk/events/henshaws-21-exhibition/

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