Students make short film to mark charity's 30th anniversary

The university has a long-running partnership with the mental health charity START (Salford Therapy, Arts and Recovery Team) and ahead of its landmark milestone, Neil Withnell, Associate Dean Academic for Student Experience at the School of Health and Society commissioned a team of students from the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology to deliver a film of their celebrations.

The result is a three-minute short film that captures the launch of the charity’s new exhibition ‘People and Portraits of Salford’ at Salford Museum and Art Gallery.

The wide range of portraits at the exhibition were produced by current service users and volunteers, spanning across a range of the creative arts delivered at START, including painting and drawing, textiles, mosaics, ceramics, sculptures, prints and photography.

It runs until Sunday 24th September and is billed as a celebration of the transformative power of art and the positive impact organisations like START can have in their communities.

Daniel Lawson, one of the students who helped produce the film said: “I really enjoyed being part of this wonderful opportunity, and I hope my work has helped promote the charity event and all the great work that START does.”

The university holds the relationship with START in high importance and the School of Health and Society supports its key focuses of wellbeing and social prescribing in addition to its mental health services.

Neil added: “It was extremely important for our partnership to have a video to mark their anniversary. Working with START helps our relationship with them and also gives something back to the local community, which is a key aspect of the university’s work.

“I was highly impressed with the organisation, planning and the final video from the students. They were very professional, thoughtful and the finished product must have taken a lot of time to process, resulting in an excellent video that will be proudly displayed on their website.”