Stunning new exhibition at City Screen aims to raise money for two York mental heath charities

IF YOU'VE been down to City Screen in the last few days, you may have noticed that a new art exhibition has opened in the upstairs gallery (ie the upstairs corridor leading to screens 1 and 2).

Nothing unusual in that: the cinema often puts on exhibitions by local artists - in fact, there's a second exhibition being held simultaneously in the coffee shop downstairs.

The one upstairs is a bit different, however. It is part exhibition, part 'silent auction' - and all the money raised from the sale of these original artworks will go to help the work of two local mental health charities in York.

It is the third year that York Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, York have staged the exhibition/ auction at City Screen.

Over the last couple of years, they have managed to raise a total of £4,000 to support the work they do.

And if the quality of the artwork on show this year is anything to go by, they should be able to do just as well this year.

There are 57 original works of art on show altogether. They have been donated by professional artists, talented amateurs, and people who have been involved with mental health services in York.

And they make for a wonderful exhibition, arranged along the length of the cinema's upstairs gallery.

Perhaps most striking is a huge, abstract swirl of colour that dominates the centre of the display. Entitled Inner Spin, it is a digital piece stretched on canvas by a man who has given his name only as 'James'.

Other notable pieces include a gloriously colourful depiction of an elephant's face in close up. 'Beauty in colour', the anonymous artist has called this work. There's a lovely, delicate representation of a poppy meadow, done with acrylics and tissue by Ros Walker; anatmospheric oil painting of Staithes by Ron Clough; and much, much more.

The idea of the 'silent auction', organised by Holly Bilton of York Mind and Lowra Kitchingman of the Rethink Mental Illness York group, is that art-lovers go along to have a look.

If a particular work of art catches your eye, just take a bidding slip (you’ll find them in a small envelope hung beside a 'current high bids’ chalkboard to the right of the display), and fill in your name, contact details, the number of the painting, and the amount you’d like to offer. You then post your bid into a special ‘bid box’ hanging on the wall.

Every couple of days, either Holly or Lowra will come in, look through the bids, and chalk the highest bid for each painting up on the chalkboard, so that those making future bids know how much they’ll need to pay. And when the exhibition ends on October 27 (at 11pm), the person making the highest bid for each artwork will get to take it home after handing over the price agreed.

It’s a bit like bidding for something on eBay, says Holly - except you have to physically come along, look at the paintings, then post your bid in the bid box.

It’s a great way to get a piece of high-quality original art to hang in your home. And it could make a real difference to the work these two local charities do.

There's huge pressure on mental health services at the moment, says Holly, York Mind's community fundraiser. That can mean long waits for something like counselling on the NHS.

York Mind has 19 qualified volunteer counsellors on its books, offering one-to-one counselling using a range of different approaches such as CBT therapy and gestalt therapy.

It can make a huge difference to the quality of life of someone who is struggling to cope with depression, stress or negative emotions, Holly says.

We all feel stressed or anxious from time to time, she says. That's part of modern life.

But there's something very wrong when that stress, anxiety or depression becomes so overwhelming that it dominates your life, and stops you doing the things that most of us take for granted - getting up, going to work, making friends, falling in love.

There is absolutely no doubt that counselling can often help people who feel trapped in this way, Holly says. The charity recently helped one woman who said she'd thought she would never be able to move on with her life. "But now she's been able to find work, and even been able to fall in love," Holly says.

Perhaps the best thing about York Mind's counselling service is that you don't need an official diagnosis of depression or bipolar disorder before you can get help.

The problem is that the charity never has enough money to offer as much counselling as it would like.

So much of York Mind's share of the money raised from this year's 'silent auction' will go towards counselling, plus other services that it can’t fund through grants and trust donations.

Rethink Mental Illness York, meanwhile, will put its share of the funds partly towards the York Mental Health Carers group, which supports family members and other carers of people with mental ill health. "Members tell us that the group helps them to feel informed, understood and less isolated when dealing with the often heart breaking challenge of supporting a family member who is unwell," Lowra says.

The rest of its share of the money will go towards Club 84, a monthly social group for anyone who has experienced mental ill health, where people can come and have lunch and a chat.

Good and useful projects all, which can make a real difference to the quality of people's lives.

For the next three weeks or so, you have a real chance to contribute to that work, and to bag yourself a piece of stunning original artwork to boot. Just head over to City Screen, check out the exhibition on the first floor - and then post your bid...

To find out more about the work of York Mind, visit yorkmind.org.uk/

To find out more about the work of Rethink Mental Illness, visit rethink.org/ then search for York Group