Ikon and Living Well Consortium collaborate to raise awareness of, and engagement with, topics centred on mental health and wellbeing. Birmingham-born artist Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora worked with communities in Erdington, taking photographic portraits against the backdrop of the city’s green spaces, and exploring the benefits of nature to our health.   

The exhibition includes new portraits by Dhaliwal-Boora of Alan, Jack, Jane, Hannah, Mary, Kayleigh and Melvyn, alongside their personal stories and own photographs, taken on disposable cameras whilst exploring Erdington.

The showcase tours to grounded. cafe in Selly Oak, Birmingham in Autumn 2024 – the first café of its kind in the West Midlands, designed with mindfulness at its heart. It is founded by leading mental health organisations, Living Well Consortium and Birmingham Mind, and funded by NHS England. This programme is supported by Living Well Consortium. 

This exhibition is presented as part of Ikon’s 60th anniversary year.

About the artist

Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora (b.1985, Birmingham) is an award-winning multi-disciplinary artist whose work focuses on a socially engaged practice, working with local communities to empower and give voice to marginalised groups. She is interested in celebrating untold stories while exploring visual representations of gender, ethnicity and place.

Dhaliwal-Boora’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at Wembley Stadium, UN Headquarters New York, New Art Exchange Nottingham, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Manchester’s People Museum. She has won numerous prizes, including the British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain award in 2022 and 2023.

Green Spaces Producer 

Amelia Hawk is an artist working across the intersection of art and counselling strategies. She is the 2024 Engagement Fellow at Spike Island.

About Living Well Consortium

Living Well Consortium is the West Midlands’ leading mental health consortium, which consists of over 30 Third Sector mental health organisations. These consortium members each use their experience and networks to work in a cross-collaborative way, to ensure that those who are looking for ways to access mental health and wellbeing support can do so in an efficient way. These Third Sector members work to relieve the pressure felt by the medical services, by delivering free community-based and community-oriented services that focus on prevention, wellness, recovery, and resilience, in turn building a more sustainable and long-lasting solution.