Wolverhampton Suicide Prevention Stakeholder Forum
Wolverhampton Suicide Prevention Stakeholders Forum is active throughput the year with events and activities. The forum is made up of many organisations working together with support and hope.
Support Life Art Exhibition November 2019
Introduction
This social value report represents the Support Life Art Exhibition, and explores the significance of delivering a project relating to the importance of maintaining good mental health. A project that promotes the mental health and wellbeing of all people that make up our community, explores the tragedy and impact of suicide through the mediums of Art, Music, Film, Poetry and Performance and acknowledges the social value of delivering a suicide prevention ‘freely available to all’ public service.
Throughout November 2019 from Tuesday 5th until Saturday 30th Real Arts Workshops1 (RAW) successfully delivered the Support Life Exhibition from the Light House Media Centre2 in Wolverhampton. Real Arts Workshops (RAW) create high- quality and innovative Art, Craft and Music workshops to meet with the educational, welfare and recreational needs of people
that live in the Black Country. As such, RAW deliver public value projects, which support in developing resilient and confident communities that are a good place to live.
The Support Life Exhibition was commissioned by Dr Paul Darke, chief executive of Outside Centre3. The said charitable organization works with the social model of disability. Its primary objective is to recognize and respect the nature of disability through the Arts, Media and Culture while promoting the importance of education, good health and well beingness.
Paul Darke created the highly successful ‘Wolves in Wolves’ sculpture trail which ran from July to September 2017 as supported by Wolverhampton City Council and Wolverhampton’s Business Improvement District (BID) and ‘celebrate’ a Big Lottery funding initiative.
The purpose of the sculpture trail was to promote public engagement with Art and Culture while providing educational, economic and public health benefits.
Further to the event the Wolf sculptures generated £35,000+ at auction. The said finance was distributed among the Mayor’s selected charities. The ‘Support Life Wolf’ created by Alex Vann (one of RAW’s directors) was included in the ‘Wolves in Wolves’ sculpture trail, and continues to be present in the grounds of Wolverhampton University Millennium building. The said sculpture provided inspiration when naming the Support Life Exhibition, which is the subject of this social value report, and is dedicated to Alex’s close friend, the late musician and social activist Rich McMahon.