This Is Us

This Is Us opens at The Old School House in Boscombe on 3 August, and it'll be running through to 17 September. It's a group show featuring eleven artists from Make Art: Bournemouth, a monthly art group run by the national charity Outside In. The exhibition looks at what it means to be an artist in today's world, with identity, belonging and community as the threads that tie it all together.

Outside In was founded in 2006 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The charity works with artists who face barriers to the art world because of health, disability, social circumstance or isolation, and Make Art: Bournemouth is one of the groups they run. This show is hosted by their partners, BEAF, at The Old School House (TOSH), a Grade II listed heritage building in Boscombe.

The work on display comes from AE Simcock, Alfie White-Starke, Berni Vincent, Elisabetta Noto, Heather Picken, Helena Yasmin, Margaret Lewis, Marisa Mann, Phil J, Phoenix Rises Artwork and Roger Strong. A few pieces stand out: Phoenix Rises Artwork has a digital work celebrating trans joy; Marisa Mann a watercolour about the resilience of the Ukrainian people; and Margaret Lewis a tactile piece made from string. The whole exhibition is fully audio-described, with QR codes next to each work, some of which are voiced by the artists themselves.

Entry is free, and it's on from 3 August to 17 September at The Old School House, Gladstone Mews, Gladstone Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth BH7 6BG.