ARTWORK created by recovering drug and alcohol addicts has gone on display at Swindon Central Library.

The Art And Soul Exhibition has been created by New View Art Room, one of the services offered by Swindon Aand Wiltshire Alcohol And Drug Service.

The art project was first created back in 2003 but, under Lucille Moore, it was reborn as New View, which focuses on increasing confidence among service users and aiding their recovery with creative work.

The group is not only recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, but includes referrals from Swindon Mind, in what is a varied group, according to Lucille, the project leader.

With their creative juices in full flow, the team had a wealth of works with nowhere to channel them, which led to the exhibition.

“We decided that over the last six months there had been an enormous amount of work done. Our users had come on leaps and bounds,” said Lucille.

“We felt this would be a great showcase for everybody and help improve their confidence.”

There are 10 drawings and paintings on display, along with a recovery quilt stitched together by the team as a whole, inspired by similar exhibits at Bath’s American Museum.

Visitors will also find a an abstract, 3D, cardboard sculpture of some of Swindon’s most famous buildings.

Lucille said the aim is not only to satisfy the artists, but to inspire addicts, who may well need somewhere to turn.

“It’s there to entice people to come and take part,” she said.

“We want it to inspire people who need support and it gets our own users out in the community, where they can get to know people.”

“We want to get some publicity for the project too.

“We have some funding from the Big Lottery Fund for the next couple of years, but we are always after new donations and funders.”

The team has been benefitting from the tutelage of Lucille, a practising artist and textile art graduate, who has gone over a number of techniques with the group.

“I’m incredibly proud and impressed with what this group turns out,” she said.

“Having worked in a college, you can see how difficult it can be sometimes to give people the confidence to draw,” she said.

“I ask people, who have come from difficult backgrounds, to draw each other on a daily basis.

“That’s a brave thing to do. Every day I’m impressed with what they achieve.”

The exhibition is free to enter and is at Swindon Central Library until October 29.

For more information on SWADS, visit swads.org.uk.