THE MESS WE MAKE HAPPEN

TAKING FLIGHT

Image of paper planes in Rochester Cathedral
An exhibition at Rochester Cathedral of collaborative artworks by the MESS ROOM’s Kent Association for the Blind (KAB) Art Groups and Peer Arts. Featuring work by over 60 participants, artists and volunteers, Taking Flight celebrates the creativity of individuals living with full or partial sight loss.
Find out more

Draco RofFensis

Image of Dragin installation in Rochester Cathedral
Made of gold, silver and copper foil sewn onto wire panels, Draco Roffensis was suspended above the Nave in Rochester Cathedral. The dragon is covered in thousands of embossed golden scales decorated by visitors to Rochester Cathedral as well as local community, art and school groups.
Find out more

Mess Room Connects

Image of Wendy animatedly explaining something to a man thinking as he is sat at a table covered with a red and white checked table cloth and pens and papers. in the background are more people sat around tables
MESS ROOM Connects is a participatory arts programme to connect communities across Kent kickstarting with a partnership with Rochester Cathedral and our exciting communtiy project Draco Roffensis, celebrating 900 years of Textus Rofffensis by building a 15 meter long dragon to hang in the nave!
Find out more

Mess Room Connects Exhibition

Draco Roffensis installation
The artists from Kent Association for the Blind and Peer Arts groups, predominantly with sight loss share common goals to support each other by doing something they all love together, feel valued and showcase their extraordinary talents with others through this major public exhibition. The artists were inspired by Draco Roffensis and the unique surroundings of Rochester Cathedral.
Find out more

Mess Room Connects CELEBRATION

A workshop participant drawing

MESS ROOM Connects: Celebration - An inspiring visual arts exhibition celebrating a year of creative achievements, featuring artwork by over 60 artists from Kent Association for the Blind Art Groups and Peer Arts. This exhibition marks the culmination of a fantastic 12-month journey supported by National Lottery Project Grant funding from Arts Council England.

Find out more

Mess Room CURIOSITY COLLECTION

Draco Roffensis installation
The Curiosity Collection Part Two and the Kent Association for the Blind Gravesend Art Group Autumn Exhibition was the creative response to an object handling session at The Blake Gallery, getting up close to The Gravesham Collection of social history objects, memorabilia and souvenirs from years gone by.
Find out more

Mess Room CREATIVES

Image of a group of people sat around a long table, covered in paper, cups of tea and art materials, in the background Marissa and Tina are looking at a small object

MESS ROOM Creatives was a series of creative, adult art workshops spanning 12 weeks, with scheduled group visits and guided tours to cultural and heritage sites across the Medway Towns. The programme finished with three public exhibitions at each of the locations running until the end of June 2024.

Find out more

Mess Room CREATIVES II EXHIBITION

MESS ROOM CREATIVES part 2 EXHIBITION
MESS ROOM Creatives Part Two Exhibition is the culmination of a creative collaboration led by renowned artist Catriona Faulkner, with support from artists Matilda Flood and Tina Ryan. The project, in partnership with The Guildhall Museum, has given participants the unique opportunity to engage deeply with Medway’s cultural heritage.
Find out more

Mess Room CREATEs

Mess Room Creates at Chatham Dockyard

MESS ROOM Creates was a pilot participatory arts programme that involved adults with disabilities, including deaf, blind & learning disabled with all aspects of visual arts practice from concept planning, through to materials choices, design, creation, curation and exhibition. 

Find out more

Between the Lines

Mess Room Creates at Chatham Dockyard
Between the Lines was a programme authored by Fat Lady Opera and MESS ROOM CIC that used multi-disciplinary art practice to animate libraries, cultivating them as spaces for shared imagination, warmth and wonder. Over a period of six months three artists worked with 29 community participants to create a multi-media exhibition.
Find out more

Dot to Dot

Mess Room Dot to Dot
Dot to Dot is a free art project for sight impaired, deaf and BSL users living in Kent that can be delivered in BSL, spoken English, large print, braille and audio. We work out how best to communicate with you to help you be creative at home and can send you an art pack with materials, film links & creative ideas to get you started.
Find out more

Hidden Heroines

Mess Room Hidden Heroines

Hidden Heroines by the MESS ROOM and Friends, was an exhibition of artworks by local people who are sight impaired, blind, deaf or hard of hearing in response to The Historic Dockyard Chatham’s ‘Hidden Heroines: the untold stories of women of the Dockyard’ exhibition.

Find out more

Out of sight not out of mind

Mess Room OOSNOOM
‘Out of Sight Not Out of Mind’ was devised in April 2020 when the first national lockdown was announced, and the MESS ROOM was unable to host its usual weekly sessions. The project was designed to support blind and visually impaired artists.
Find out more

Open Arts 'My Self'

Mess Room Open Arts
In 2019 MESS ROOM collaborated with Sun Pier House CIC on their Open Arts programme to deliver ‘My Self’ in partnership with MESS ROOM artists Wendy Daws and Christopher Sacre.
Find out more

The Value Of Touch

Mess Room The Value of Touch

The Value of Touch was a sensory arts project developed by Wendy, offering people with sight loss an exclusive opportunity to experience the wealth of hidden treasures held by the Guildhall Museum. 

SEE AND CREATE

Mess Room See and Create

A project with the aim of providing the go-to place for Deaf Families to find out about Deaf-accessible creative events in Medway. A listings website where you can search for fun BSL-friendly activities and workshops, SEE and CREATE co-ordinates accessible creative events. Initiated and led by Christopher Sacre.

Past Projects and Exhibitions

MESS ROOM CONNECTS - THE CURIOSITY COLLECTION PART 2

The Blake Gallery - June-Sept '24

The Gravesend Kent Association for the Blind Art Group group's creative response to The Gravesham Collection.

MESS ROOM CONNECTS - DRACO ROFFENSIS

Rochester Cathedral - June-Sept '24

Artists from Kent Association for the Blind, Peer Arts return with a trail of artworks inspired by the Cathedral's Textus Roffensis Dragon.

MESS ROOM CONNECTS - SUMMER EXHIBITION

Rochester Cathedral - June-Sept '24

Our annual Summer Art Exhibition, featuring artworks by artists from the MESS ROOM Connects project, in collaboration with KAB Blind Art Groups and Peer Arts.

MEDWAY OPEN STUDIOS & ART FESTIVAL

Rochester Cathedral - July '24

Artists from Kent Association for the Blind, Peer Arts return with a trail of artworks inspired by the Cathedral's Textus Roffensis Dragon.

SENSING CULTURE: EYE-DENTITY EXHIBITION

The Beaney Canterbury - Jan-Mar '24

An exhibition that featured 40 Eye Boxes made by our KAB Artists. The Eye Boxes in the exhibition revealed scenes that were obscured by various materials to simulate the Artists’ eye condition.

MEDWAY OPEN STUDIOS & ART FESTIVAL

MESS ROOM - July '24

MESS ROOM Artists from Kent Association for the Blind & Peer Arts invited visitors to explore a selection of paintings and sculptures from their recent Canterbury Sensing Culture: Eye-Dentity exhibition.

MESS ROOM CREATIVES

Royal Engineers Museum - Apr-Jun '24

An exhibition of abstract artworks by Medway residents. Led by artist Marissa Mardon the group explored abstract drawing techniques to create final pieces exploring the theme of camouflage.

MESS ROOM CREATIVES

Rochester Cathedral - Apr-Jun '24

An exhibition of abstract artworks by Medway residents. Led by artist Tina Ryan, participants explored print making and created artwork based on the architecture and patterns throughout the Cathedral.

MESS ROOM CREATIVES

Rochester Cathedral - Apr-Jun '24

An exhibition of artworks by Medway residents. Led by artist Dan Russell, the group had the opportunity to handle the Horton Collection of Victorian era jewellery and created their own Victorian inspired cameos.

More Mess Coming Soon