Compassionate Communities holds Art Exhibition ‘One Day’ to encourage us to plan ahead

Mary McLaughlin, Catherine Duddy and Catherine Ellis are the artists taking part in the exhibition ‘One Day’. The aim of the exhibition is to increase an awareness of unseen issues which are a result of isolation felt when challenging situations arise. Art has the power to transcend psychological boundaries, which can be difficult to communicate verbally.
The exhibition is the result of the individual artist’s interpretation of themes relating to issues covered by the Compassionate Communities project, that hope to engage communities and work collaboratively with local service providers to enable independent living.

The art exhibition supported by the Public Health Agency, CLEAR Project, is one of two events being held in the city next month aimed at raising awareness of the impact of social isolation as a result of illness, death and loss. The second event is a conference ‘Tackling Frailty and End of Life through Community Resilience, A Public Health Approach to Living Well on the 18th February at the Everglades Hotel.

Compassionate Communities is a public health approach to death, dying and end of life care. It aims to enable all of us to live well within our communities to the very end of our lives. Sharon Williams of Foyle Hospice explained more about the project, ‘Dying and Death remain social taboos despite the fact that all of us will die one day. By raising awareness and providing people with opportunities to think and plan ahead we hope to change attitudes to dying and death and to recognise it as a natural part of life – a journey we all are on together.’

Everyone is welcome to visit the exhibition which is at the Garden of Reflection Gallery in Bishop’s Street opening on the 11th February running until the 25th February. For more information on either event please contact Sharon Williams on (028) 71 351010.