International artwork to brighten Jubilee Library!

New artwork produced by The Network of International Women for Brighton & Hove, (NIWBH) will light up the windows of the city's central Jubilee Library between Saturday 15 May and Friday 28 May. 

Sample journals of some of the forty women from 19 different countries in the exhibition reflect on ‘In This Moment of Time’ – the shared experience of creating art during the winter months of the Covid crisis, supporting mental health and wellbeing and the artists’ hopes for the future.

Funded through the council’s Communities Fund Covid Recovery grant and the NIWBH, the work on display shows some of a variety of techniques used to inspire the work. 

Local community artists Helen Pillot de Chenecey, Abigail Leeks and Lucy Ferguson led the creative development of the project for NIWBH.

Community through creativity

Created in the form of journals, it was developed via an innovative programme of visual ‘language-free’ video tutorials, weekly creative Zoom meetings and a Facebook art page.

Helen Pillot de Chenecey said: “This wonderful artwork is about experiencing the joys of community through creativity. 

“The work is a testament to the talents and resilience of all who took part and how given the opportunity, we can together, share and find creative ways of coping and overcoming difficulties that face us all.”

Speaking for NIWBH, Steering Committee member Marigold Ashwell said: “Like so many others, women in the network were experiencing increasing isolation, vulnerability and anxiety during the pandemic. 

“The ‘In This Moment of Time’ project has addressed so much of this, enabling women to use their creative and artistic talents and connect with each other from their own homes right across the city. 

“We are delighted that Brighton & Hove Libraries are providing us with a platform to celebrate the work of the wonderful women who have taken part in the project as well as the inspiring local community artists who made it all possible.”