This June, East Lothian based artist, Andrew Brooks will be exhibiting art focussing on telling the stories of those diagnosed with neurological condition Functional Neurological Disorder, FND, often referred to as the most common condition you’ve never heard of.
Brooks makes art that concentrates on small details of information to tell stories, using the particular to find the universal.
The multidisciplinary exhibition, FND Stories, is based on in-person interviews with six people from around the UK who live with FND along with contributions from over 90 of those diagnosed from around the world.
The interviews gave first-hand accounts of living with FND and include a beauty queen finalist from Croydon who only began competing since her diagnosis in July 2020. The artwork was created using techniques of data analysis from the interviews and contributions in a range of media including silent video, text-based art, and large-scale ink and gold leaf pieces.
The exhibition seeks to raise awareness of the condition and highlights the lived experiences of those diagnosed. It will be on show through the 20m long windows of InSpace Gallery for the full period to engage as many people as possible, as well as a shorter internal show with an opening event.
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is a common and disabling cause of neurological symptoms. The symptoms are not caused by a structural disease of the nervous system but it is a problem with the “functioning” of the nervous system.
It is a problem with how the brain and body send and receive signals. The symptoms can cause impairment in quality of life that is similar to and in some aspects worse than other neurological conditions.
Symptoms are highly varied and can include weakness and abnormal patterns of movement, attacks of abnormal movement / change in awareness that resemble epileptic seizures, sensory problems, cognitive problems, and visual and speech problems.
Andrew Brooks began making work involving the condition while studying a Fine Art MA in Bristol: “FND is a constant part of my life as my wife was diagnosed with it in 2015 following a bicycle crash involving a car.
“I began to make and exhibit work about our experiences living with FND reflecting on our married life, subsequently broadening the project making further work with members of Southwest England based charity ‘FND Friends’. Having moved to Scotland I secured funding from Creative Informatics.
“The ‘Connected Innovators’ funding stream has given me the time and resources to continue making work with those diagnosed with FND developing new skills to represent people’s stories and raise awareness about the condition”.
With support from FND Hope UK (whom he is independent from) Brooks has been able to broaden the project and had responses from around the globe, including America, Canada and Gibraltar, with over 90 participants answering the question what three words would you use to describe your FND – the top three responses being frustrating, debilitating and misunderstood. Six in-person interviews with participants from around the UK were filmed and transcribed, these stories are the basis for much of the artwork.
Those interviewed are from a range of ages, backgrounds, types and severity of condition and were asked the same set of questions about life with FND. In response to “what is a good day with FND?” one interviewee answered, “a good day is having a shower and not having to sleep after it (laughing)…good days are when I can do the things I used to take for granted”.
Coverage Briefing
The artwork is multidisciplinary and varied including video, sound, word and physical paper-based art, to tell different facets of stories, often focussing on specific details. Large paper-based pieces, some of which are over 2m long, use ink, water, gold leaf, graphite dust and latex, encoding words, meanings and information.
As Brooks explains “the encoded presentation is to create a slower understanding of what is being discussed or described be it data or words, hopefully enabling a more nuanced interaction with the subject matter.
“The interview films are shown as a pair without sound, one film showing the subject’s reaction while listening to their favourite childhood story and the other show’s them explaining about their life with FND.
“Removing the sound avoids the primary forms of storytelling and shifts focus from what is being said to the emotional communication of the person. Relying on body language and the contrast of the two films allows the viewer to emotionally engage with the teller.”
Brooks added: “My aim is to make work that can portray some of the lived experiences and stories of those diagnosed with FND. I don’t want to portray a list of symptoms but reveal different facets of people’s stories.”
FND Stories will be partially on display on Inspace City Screen (Inspace windows facing on to Potterrow), Monday 6th – Sunday 26th June, with full exhibition inside Inspace Thursday 23rd June – Sunday 26th June, 11am – 5pm.
There will be an opening event on Wednesday 22nd June 5-7pm.
Tickets to the opening event can be booked through Eventbrite here:
Granton:hub is taking part in an exciting European funded research project on the evolving heritages of Edinburgh’s shifting coastline.
A group of Edinburgh College of Art academics and their students would like to meet with the Granton community young and old, to reflect on the following themes / questions:
What is the wider geographical context of the Granton area?
How has the area evolved over time, physically, socially, and economically?
Who governs cultural heritage in Granton, and how?
How have local groups and stakeholders developed a sense of the heritage value of Granton?
We would like to invite you to discuss these themes, through interviews, either over Zoom, by phone or in person. Each slot will take around 30-45 minutes but this is flexible. Activities will take place on 3 separate days.
On the final day (Friday) the researchers will present a summary of their findings in the Hub and invite discussion on the future of cultural heritage in Granton. This event will give a chance to chat over a cup of tea/coffee and view the posters that the ECA studenst will have made.
To take part, please book the relevant day(s) on Evenbrite. A researcher from ECA will contact you to arrange a suitable time slot.
All in-person meetings and the Friday event will follow current government COVID guidelines.
After the event, ECA will produce a document outlining their findings, for presentation at Una Europe, hosted by Universite Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. Your input would therefore shape a collaborative generated dossier of information about Granton to be presented at European level.
Care home residents across the country are swapping retiral for recruitment as they seek out new staff to join them in their home. Renaissance Care’s elderly occupants are ready to search high and low, looking for more caring individuals to add to the close-knit team.
The residents, within each of Renaissance Care’s 16 care homes across Scotland, are getting involved in the advertising of positions, interviewing of applicants and final selection process to expand their teams.
Judging the applicants on their skills and experience, the residents are additionally looking for the softer side of the interviewees, ensuring they would be a good fit for their home. A good sense of humour, patience and friendly faces are top of the list for the residents who form close bonds with the care staff working within the home.
The family-owned care group is currently recruiting nationally for carers, nurses, admin workers and a number of other roles within the business. With a wholly person-centred approach to care, staff are offered ongoing training and development opportunities for career progression, alongside strong support from the management team, in order to guarantee residents the best care possible.
Residents Mary Wilson (86), June Langridge (87) and Rita Bryson (84) teamed up with their home manager, hoping to find more staff to join the family at Renaissance Care’s Jesmond Care Home in Aberdeen.
Mary Wilson said: “Living in the care home, the staff are very important to us. The team at Jesmond help us in any way they can, which is vital when you struggle to fully look after yourself as you get older. Since we’ve experienced the care first-hand, I think we know what to look for in candidates.
“I’m looking for staff who are patient, understanding and good listeners. They also need to be ready for a joke too.”
Dawn Gardiner, Home Manager at Jesmond Care Home, said: “We have staff from all different backgrounds at Jesmond, and we all bring something new to the table.
“I believe that if you’re kind and hard-working, you’ll fit right in with us.”
At Croftbank Care Home in Uddingston, Home Manager, Denise Mote, said: “We’re so lucky to have such a caring and dedicated team here at Croftbank, and it will be lovely to welcome some new faces.
“I’ve recently joined the team at Renaissance Care myself, and it’s a fantastic place to work. The residents and staff have been entirely welcoming, and I already feel like part of the family.”
Louse Barnett, managing director at Renaissance Care, said: “Following what has been an incredibly difficult time for residents and staff across the country, it’s even more important that residents are part of the recruitment process, finding people that they can build personal relationships with.
“Renaissance Care is an inclusive place of work, and there really is a role for everyone in our homes. We offer extensive opportunities for our staff to develop their skillset, and would urge anyone with a caring heart and strong work ethic to apply.
“Our staff and residents within each of our homes become a tight knit family, and we are looking forward to welcoming more staff members into the mix.”
Visit Renaissance Care’s website for current job vacancies at:
Forth 1 and Forth 2 presenter, Cat Harvey, is joined by inspirational Scottish women this International Women’s Day (Monday 8th March), to discuss their successes, challenges and aspirations.
The women, including Judy Murray, sports presenter Eilidh Barbour and woman’s rights campaigner Talat Yaqoob, each at the top of their chosen field, all share personal experiences of breaking through the glass ceiling and stories of their own accomplishments.
The interviews, conducted by breakfast presenter Cat Harvey, one of Scotland’s top female radio talents, will be played out on Forth 1 and Forth 2 and across the Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Networks on Monday, interspersed with a playlist that will be all female artists, all day (Forth 1, 6am to midnight), including the likes of Beyonce, Amy MacDonald, Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Adele and Pink.
Scottish business and beauty mogul, Jamie Genevieve, shares her story on Forth 1. She discusses the ‘cookie cutter’ image of women in business and how she discovered the power of being herself and the success this has brought her.
Eilidh Barbour and Cat discuss the success of women’s football in recent years and Eilidh speaks about how she has made her own voice heard amongst her male colleagues’, while Talat Yaqoob discusses the challenges women still face in trying to break into certain industries.
Cat Harvey, presenter of Ewen & Cat At Breakfast on Forth 2, said: “It was extremely empowering speaking to these amazing women across a variety of professions about their achievements and their journey to get to where they are now.
“It’s so important that we continue to have these conversations. We have made progress in the past few years for gender equality, but it is essential that we keep pushing and challenging the status quo, and I’m proud to a play a part in making sure women’s voices are being heard.”
Listen to all the interviews as they are aired across Forth 1 and Forth 2 on International Women’s Day on Monday the 8th of March.
Keep up with all the latest news, sport, biggest hits, greatest hits on Forth 1 and Forth 2 on FM / AM, on DAB radio, online, via the Radio Forth app and on your Smart Speaker.
Full list of interviewees: Eilidh Barbour, Judy Murray, Talat Yaqoob, Dr. Punam Krishan, Dr Marie Macklin CBE, Dr. Katy Stewart (Forth 2 only) and Jamie Genevieve (Forth 1 only).
Forth 1 and Hits Radio Network Scotland will run the interviews at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm and 11pm. Forth 2 and Greatest Hit Network Scotland will run the features at 7am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm.
Face-to-face assessments for all sickness and disability benefits will be suspended for the next 3 months, the government announced yesterday.
The temporary move, effective today, is being taken as a precautionary measure to protect vulnerable people from unnecessary risk of exposure to coronavirus as the country’s response ramps up in the ‘delay’ phase. The DWP says they will ensure those who are entitled to a benefit continue to receive support, and that new claimants are able to access the safety net.
It affects claimants of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), those on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and some on Universal Credit, and recipients of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
The suspension of face-to-face assessments also covers new claims to those benefits.
Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey said: “As we move into the next phase of our response to coronavirus, it is right we take steps to protect those with health problems.
“Temporarily suspending face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits will allow us to ensure we continue to provide a safety net for those in need, while removing unnecessary risk of exposure to this disease.”
Anyone who has a face-to-face assessment appointment scheduled from today – Tuesday 17 March – onwards does not need to attend and will be contacted to discuss next steps and alternative arrangements, which could involve either telephone or paper-based assessments. DWP expect this measure will be in effect for the next 3 months but will regularly review the position in line with Public Health advice.
No further action is required by any claimant as a result of this change. They will be contacted with advice on next steps.
DWP continues to accept new claims for all benefits. Anyone already receiving PIP, ESA, Universal Credit or Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, will continue to receive their current payments as normal while alternative arrangements are put in place to review or reassess their claim.
Suspending face-to-face health assessments is a precautionary measure which reflects the Prime Minister’s decision to trigger the ‘delay’ phase. It is important to note that this change does not affect or change any existing public health advice.
