ACCORDING To McGee is collaborating with the 2014 Illuminating York festival for a gallery showcase of work by people who have experienced homelessness and by youngsters in wheelchairs on October 31 and November 1.

Greg and Ails McGee, directors of the gallery in Tower Street, York, have worked through their charity New Visuality with a range of people who have encountered social marginilisation. "Whether it's the experience of homelessness, or the continuing frustration of wheelchair access, a lot of our participants feel as if they're forced somehow to recede into the shade," says Greg.

"We thought, 'what better way to drag out from the margins these people and their creativity, their stories and their colours, than to dovetail a lit-up window display with the city's colossal Illuminating York event, in a celebration of their art?'. It's a no brainer. The projects have pretty much finished, but before we start building on the legacy we've put in place, let's paint with light and cutting-edge digital technology and get the work to as many people as possible."

New Visuality have been working on two projects, Out The Box and The Wheel Turns, both funded by Arts Council England's Grants for the Arts, the first dealing with issues surrounding homelessness, the second with wheelchair access.

"It's no secret that Tower Street is packed during Illuminating York," says Ails, "So we've brought in light installation artist Nick Walters to take over our front window on October 31 and November 1. He's had a great year, with installations at York Minster and at Glastonbury, and he's worked with us to get the best out of the participants from both projects.

"He's come up with the main theme, to project phrases and text from Seebohm Rowntree's influential 1901 book, Poverty: A Study of Town Life. Through a semi-transparent patchwork row of terraced houses, the words will filter through colours and images chosen independently by our participants, some of their work, some of them working. So, in essence, it's a perfect collaboration, and it's as digital and as innovative as anything we've ever done."

Nick says: "After having seen first hand just how far the participants push themselves on New Visuality's projects, I'm delighted to showcase their work in my light installation, and Illuminating York is the perfect platform to do it, and to get their stories to as many people as possible."

The artwork within the gallery will showcase the creativity from both projects. "The work is as desirable as anything we've ever exhibited," says Greg.

Meanwhile, the international poetry magazine Dream Catcher has chosen a work by one of the Out The Box participants, Michele Damiano, for the cover its latest edition, Dream Catcher 29. "We're launching it on Sunday, November 2, from 6pm to 7pm, when we'll have people who have experienced homelessness standing up to read their own poetry, all surrounded with paintings and 3D prints from people who have taken part in our projects," says Greg.

Dream Catcher 29 is edited by York poet John Gilham. "Under John's guidance, we've put together an extremely strong journal of poetry, prose and art," says Dream Catcher's Alan Gillott, who adds: "In anticipation of Stairwell Books' joint venture with SASH, the charity for the homeless, our featured artist in our February 2015 edition will be Michele Damiano, who himself has experienced a period of homelessness.”

Reflecting on the impact of the New Visuality projects, Ails concludes: "Exhibitions in galleries and churches, at Starbucks and Visit York, and now Illuminating York and Dream Catcher; we're very proud of the work we've done in New Visuality this year. We like to think that in some small way we've helped bring issues into the light that little bit more."