THE next exhibition in Chester Gateway's Marks and Spencer Money Gallery is being staged by members of the Lache Family Centre - a project managed by leading children's charity NCH.
Hairs and Graces is presented by members of the NCH Lache Family Centre's Photography Group Into Focus.
With the help of the Healthy Living Network and the Learning and Skills Council a group of mums met at the Family Centre to learn the basics of photography.
The group was started as a one-off six week project last year for mothers with an interest in photography. However as their interest grew, a second course was organised to further improve their skills.
Under the guidance of photographer Steve Rooney they moved on from the basics to much more creative photography. This is what they wrote about their new exhibition
'We are a group of women with children, we came together to learn to express ourselves through photography. Some of us had previous experience whereas some of us had none,' said Steve.
'We learned to use photography in many ways, to describe our environment, to encapsulate those around us as well as our artistic inclinations. We also learned a new way to have fun and to interact with others to get the best out of what we were doing.' The NCH Lache Family Centre is one of 133 centres in the UK run by the charity. Family centres provide safe play and educational opportunities for children, offer parenting support, educational and career development opportuniites to parents and also practical help with a variety of family problems.
At a local level, the NCH Lache Family Centre has a variety of services for children and families. The photography group has been a new innovation which has supported parents in developing new skills, confidence, self esteem and teamwork.
