Publications – Bright Sparks Arts

Self-Love Anthology

Members of the ArtSpace Arts Group and The Showcase Writer’s Collective worked with participatory artists Emily Crosby and Lucy Ovenall to create this wonderful collection of visual arts and corresponding creative writing.

Experimenting with and exploring various artistic methods/techniques and mediums, Mental Health Service Users celebrated themselves and their continued strength and survival through challenging times.

“There were no constrictions, just freedom to express yourself and celebrate your strength and brilliance!”

Every Brilliant Thing

The ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ collection presents at least one piece of visual art or creative writing from everybody who contributed to the Every Brilliant Thing project, an online platform for mental health service users to share their artistic endeavours during the Covid crisis.

It showcases the creative talent that exists within the mental health community of Leicester, Leicestershire and beyond. If you would like a free copy of the book please contact us.

A Visitor Calls

Visitor Calls – by Bradgate Writers Group – From travel, love and memory – to visitations, from the cob van calling to sell us our sarnies and samosas, to imaginary characters, strangers, friends and more… we hope you enjoy reading and looking at the work we’ve created, as much as we’ve enjoyed making it.

From travel, love and memory – to visitations, from the cob van calling to sell us our sarnies and samosas, to imaginary characters, strangers, friends and more… we hope you enjoy reading and looking at the work we’ve created, as much as we’ve enjoyed making it.

Developed over the course of a year, guided by editors, Peter Buckley, Lydia Towsey and Jo Sheppard, supported by volunteers – and fed into by a host of nationally acclaimed, visiting writers.

Illustration has been led by visiting artist, Jo Sheppard and delivered by artists attending LPT’s regular arts drop-in, Artscafe.

You can download the Sample book on this page, and the paperback is available from the bradgate mental health unit.

More from Bradgate Writers: Money

“Ragged Trousered Philanthropists”:
Financial Rhymes for Financial Times

Bradgate Writers and People’s Arts Collective (PAC) gathered in a one-day opportunity to contemplate creatively our almost certainly always subjective attitudes to money, financial exchange, industry, global capital, and individual wealth.

Poetry Prescription

Bradgate Writers is an informal creative writing group producing both prose and poetry. We meet every Tuesday morning at The Recreational Hall of The Bradgate Mental Health Unit. Our poems are here accompanied by work from Arts Café, who enjoy visual inspiration in the afternoons. Both are attended by artists of vision and invention. We are interested in advancing our art with new challenges.

Some pieces in this collection speak of light, some of darkness; some are of experience, whether positive or negative, or presented through the adventure-seeking inclinations of the imagination.

Everyone needs a Disco Ball

The Poems in this collection were written by groups of people in a variety of mental health settings, including inpatient units, recovery colleges and community humour hubs.

Those in the room contribute ideas, jokes, lines and rhymes, while the resident poet composes the poem in real time. Anyone can join in, and together we create something wonderful.

The Comedy Asylum

Since 2007 the Comedy Asylum has been a unique platform for people with mental health conditions to develop and showcase their comedic abilities. This book is a collection of some of our favourite material.

Includes ‘Cannibal Come Dine With Me’, ‘Everyone Needs a Disco Ball’ and ‘Constipated Kylie’.

Word Round

Over two years, stand-up poet Rob Gee went into inpatient mental health settings around Nottingham, Northampton, Kettering and Leicester. He would compose poetry on a flip chart, while people contributed ideas, jokes, lines and rhymes.

This book is a selection of those poems.Featuring poems from inpatients in acute, elderly, forensic, intensive care, child/adolescent (CAMHS), eating disorders, learning disability, and rehabilitation/supported care settings.
The artwork featured in this collection was created by BrightSparks Arts in Mental Health workshop participants at the Bradgate Unit via a series of workshops facilitated by Scott Bridgwood.

Poems to Hear Before You Die

Poems To Hear Before You Die is a debut recording by Showcase Smoothie containing 24 tracks from Artists attending the Showcase Creative and the ArtSpace Groups.

Edited by Jean Binta BreezeMBE and Cover Design & Artwork by

Showcase Smoothie is a literature and music project, predominantly targeting adults with experience of mental health problems.

Poems to See Before You Die

Wit and Wisdom from the Showcase Smoothie Collective.

The final instalment of the ‘Poems Before You Die’ trilogy, brought to you by the ‘Showcase Collective’.

This project was was facilitated by performance poet Rob Gee.

Cultural Mosaics

From cultures of love and friendship…to place and time…belief, politics, stories, names and more. Rarely does one come across such a rich array of identities, viewpoints and cultures, combined to create a mosaic – beautiful, thought-provoking and of many pieces and pages.

From cultures of love and friendship…to place and time…belief, politics, stories, names and more. Rarely does one come across such a Rich array of identities, viewpoints and cultures, combined to create a mosaic – beautiful, thought-provoking and of many pieces and pages.

Both the Book and DVD are available. The DVD can be viewed online and the Sample of the Book will be made available on this page.