Local artist draws attention to Mental Health Awareness Week (May 15-21, 2023)

Local artist Dionne Pollock recently presented the Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, alderman Stephen Ross, with a digital print of Mossley Mill, from her quirky collection of digital art prints.

Dionne, who suffers from poor mental health, has found incredible solace in creating art, even during her very darkest days, and she has chosen Mental Health Awareness Week 15-21 May 2023, to share her story.

Dionne from Newtownabbey has lived with mental health issues for many years, but has found the past three years extremely testing.

She said: “During these particularly tough times the one thing constant in my life was my love for art.

"I am a creative person by nature and I found great comfort creating art which has definitely been a contributing factor in my recovery.”

Dionne started to build a small collection of her work from pictures she had taken from various trips across Northern Ireland.

The artist added: “Through my own experiences I wanted to give something back, sharing my art with family, friends and people I have encountered through my battle with mental ill health, [which] opened up a platform for me to share stories and memories.

"It became very evident to me how common poor mental health actually is, and that you should never feel embarrassed about [talking about] it.”

Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, alderman Stephen Ross, said; “It was great to meet with Dionne.

"I was humbled by her story and I greatly admire her honesty and courage.

"Dionne is a very creative person, who, despite her own struggles, is committed to helping others through her art.

"I would encourage you to check out her work and support her business.”

Dionne added: “I am on my own journey of appreciating the small things in life and focusing on what we have instead of what we don’t have.

"I want to create pieces of art based on our ‘lovely wee country’ which I hope will have sentimental value to people and help make them happy.”

To view Dionne’s work visit dionnepollock.com or check out her Instagram account @dionnepollockart.

For more information on Mental Health Awareness Week click here.