The Veterans Hub, based in Weymouth, is collaborating with Got Your Six UK to host the event from Saturday, March 25 to Friday, April 7 at vintage barber shop Barberista, on St Thomas Street in Weymouth.
The exhibition will consist of a range of works including art, photography and poetry, all created by past and present armed forces personnel and their families, as well as a number of professional artists, some of which are still serving.
Tara Coyles-Gould, resident counsellor at the Veterans Hub, who also runs veterans’ organisation Got Your Six UK, said: “The idea for the exhibition was born out of a therapy session with a veteran who had lost his spark and wanted to get back into artwork but lacked the motivation.
“I initially suggested displaying veteran art in The Veterans Hub Community Cafe, but after a discussion with Andy, we decided to run a large-scale event that could showcase the amazing talents within our military community from across the country.”
The artworks come from the imagination of the individual and although there is no theme, expressions of mental health experiences, realities of war and honest accounts of serving are amongst the content.
Ms Coyles-Gould added: “We’re also promoting the therapeutic benefits of creative activities, and how they can be used as a way to express uncomfortable emotions that might be difficult to verbalise.
“Men in particular find it hard to talk about their experiences, but art can be a great way to release and resolve internal conflicts and distress.
“Men’s mental health is a passion of both Got Your Six UK and The Veterans Hub because of the devastatingly high number of male suicides amongst both military and general population.”
The Veterans Hub, based in Weymouth, is a community project with the intent of providing a safe and secure location for veterans and their families to come together in an environment that would enable them to socialise in a non-clinical setting in order to provide peer to peer support for each other.
Got Your Six UK, is a UK-based organisation which promotes the mental health and wellbeing of the military community through support and wellbeing events.
The exhibition is open to the public and free to view, with some of the artwork available to purchase.
You can view the exhibition at Barberista from Saturday, March 25 to Friday, April 7 from 9am to 7pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 9am to 8pm Thursdays; and 8am to 6pm Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
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This content was originally published here.