Young artists get the chance to show talent at The Public in West Bromwich

Apr 19 2010 By Paul Collins, Community Newswire

Young and aspiring artists from the West Midlands have been given a chance to showcase their work at an exhibition organised by youth charity ITV Fixers.

The exhibition at The Public community arts centre in West Bromwich, opened today and is on until May 3. It was organised following an approach to the charity by art graduate Todd Wooton.

Todd, 22, from Walsall, felt young artists in the Midlands did not get enough opportunities to show their talents. He said: "When I graduated in 2008 I found it hard to get my work out there. I now want to make it easier for people like me to get their work seen.

"I'm hoping we'll get young artists' work seen by lots of people and that we'll create chances for artists to produce work on a bigger scale. This exhibition will hopefully be a platform for artists to launch from."

Kadi Wilson, young people's co-ordinator for ITV Fixers in the region, helped organise the event. She said the charity wanted to help the 37 young artists involved to showcase their talents to a large audience.

She said: "Youngsters in the area don't have the chance to show their work locally as there is a real drive towards London.

"And graduates found that if they had not already made a name for themselves, then breaking onto the London art scene was very difficult."

Kadi said the organisation of the event had been a difficult task as many galleries in the area had rejected the proposal.

She said: "Eventually The Public gave us a yes, and allowed us to showcase the work of the young artists for free. We had even looked at taking over space in empty shops to display the work."

The Works of Ours exhibition will display artwork from across the spectrum.

Kadi said: "There is a bit of everything in the display including paintings, sculptures, video, and photos. It's a real mix of work."

The exhibition, which is free, is open from 10am until 6pm, seven days a week.

ITV Fixers was created by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust to allow youngsters between the ages of 16 and 25 to showcase their talents.

Margo Horsley, chief executive of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust, said: "We want to give them the chance to decide what they want to do, develop their own projects, and give them a little bit of help if needed."

For more information visit www.itvfixers.com.