National charity Centrepoint provides housing and support for young people in London, Manchester, Yorkshire and the North East and, through partnerships, all over the UK. Its overall goal is to enable young people to live independently by building young people’s confidence, improving their health and providing training.
As part of the charity’s work with Catherine, a young woman who was escaping from an abusive lifestyle and had a constant struggle with mental health problems, open-access train operator Grand Central provided travel tickets to allow Catherine to sit for a portrait by artist Andrea Tyrimos.
The result, ‘Heart on my Sleeve’, featured in Andrea’s exhibition, Bipolar Picasso, in London earlier this year. Catherine was there to see it.
Speaking after seeing the finished result, Catherine said: “The experience did feel a bit strange, but I knew it was for a cause so close to me and the other young people that desperately need help, support and guidance that I once needed. It was emotional and sometimes hearing everything back can be quite difficult but also motivational as I can see how far I have progressed.”
Now Grand Central has purchased the work, which will be unveiled at the Piece Hall on 14 June, where it will remain on show until Monday 17 June. It will then be on permanent display at Wakefield Kirkgate station.
Grand Central’s chief operating officer Sean English explained: “Buying the painting is a natural extension of partnership with Centrepoint, and it’s even more exciting for us being able to join up with our other partners – a long-held vision of ours. The Piece Hall is the perfect location for unveiling the painting and housing it at Wakefield Kirkgate means that many more people will continue to be inspired by Catherine’s story.”
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