Wakefield artist's poems and paintings on show in new books

Dawn Bland is a campaigning poet, artist and survivor of childhood trauma, who channels her experiences of battling mental health, homelessness, domestic violence and addition in to her work.

Through lockdown, her art skills, developed through art therapy and community art sessions, have acted as a lifeline, helping her to process her emotions while many support services were reduced.

And Dawn's work will now be revealed to a new audience, with the publication of two new books, and a window display in the Ridings Shopping Centre, thanks to a collaboration with Spectrum People.

Bridget Gill, charity manager, said: "Spectrum People has supported Dawn for many years and throughout lockdown delivered canvases to outside her home so that she could continue to paint.

"In her poems and paintings she tells the story many have faced and continue to face in coping with what Covid19 has changed in our lives."

2020: The Other Side is a collection of paintings, photos and poems, which document Dawn's lockdown experience, alongside Appletree: Sowing the seeds of change in Agbrigg, which follows the story of Appletree Garden and explores its importance on the physical and mental health of visitors.

Both books are now for sale in the Ridings Shopping Centre, alongside a display of Dawn's work.

The shop is located close to Primark, and is open weekdays.