A Northern Ireland based mental health charity is marking its 65th anniversary with a powerful exhibition telling the stories of its service users and staff.
Inspire, the mental health and wellbeing charity, have launched the poignant and powerful exhibition, INSPIRED, at the Waterfront Hall. The multi-media exhibition consists of everyday items, each belonging to one individual and prompting a story or memory of a specific point in their life.
Each seemingly mundane article (a set of car jump-leads, a 1970s iron, a pair of running shoes, a front door key) has a deeply personal story conveyed through audio narration by the story-tellers themselves. Each shares intimate reflections on their experiences, reflects on their past and, with support from Inspire, looks ahead to the future.
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Items on display belong to individuals who have come through trauma, mental illness, discrimination and addiction. Contributors range from two survivors of a mother and baby home, now aged in their 90’s, to a TV film archivist who worked during the troubles, and a young man who, although non-speaking, uses music to communicate. All have benefited from, work with, or provide volunteer support for leading wellbeing charity, Inspire.
The INSPIRED exhibition is to mark 65 years of the charity, which was established in Belfast in 1950 by Lady Margaret Wakehurst, in an era when there was no mental health support outside of formal psychiatric hospitals. Lady Wakehurst had supported her son through mental illness and she resolved to improve the mental health care available and to change society’s attitudes to mental illness.
The original Beacon community mental health centre in Belfast was the first of its kind; it grew to become Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health (NIAMH); and now, known as Inspire, the charity is one of the largest providers of mental health, addiction and intellectual disability services in Ireland, supporting over 25,000 people every year.
Kerry Anthony MBE, Chief Executive of Inspire said: "As we mark the 65th anniversary of Inspire, we have been reflecting a lot on our organisation and our people. In some ways we are unrecognisable from that first support group in University Street in Belfast, all those years ago.
"And, yet the values that shape our mission and our objectives today are inextricably linked to the values that underpinned that first Beacon centre: to improve lives, ensure that people are treated fairly and create the conditions in which everyone may live with dignity and reach their full potential.
“Lady Wakehurst named our very first service Beacon because she wanted “a name suggesting light.” Six decades later, I am proud to lead this very special organisation that shines a light of hope and changes the lives of thousands every year.”
Iain Bell, Acting Chief Executive, Belfast Waterfront, Ulster Hall and ICC Belfast said: "It’s a great privilege to host the INSPIRED exhibition in the Waterfront Hall and to showcase these moving and deeply personal stories, all of which offer a strong sense of hope and optimism. We selected Inspire as our charity partner as their values align strongly with ours.
"We are continually impressed by their passion and drive to make a difference in Belfast and Northern Ireland, and to deliver life-changing and life-saving services. We have huge respect for Inspire’s work and hope that many people passing through the Waterfront Hall in the coming weeks will take a little time to experience the exhibition, and hopefully be as moved by Inspire’s wonderful work as we are.”
The INSPIRED Exhibition is on display in Belfast Waterfront Hall Bar 2 until January 25. For more information visit www.inspirewellbeing.org/inspired
Have a look through our gallery below for some contributions to the exhibition.
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