Meet our No Boundaries artists

31st August 2018

The No Boundaries art exhibition has begun touring Britain to encourage more people to talk and travel without boundaries.

We’ve followed some of the artists on their journeys as they’ve explored Britain using a Railcard, to create a piece of artwork inspired by their journey.

 

Liz Atkin

Liz recently travelled from London to Wool with South Western Railway to create a piece of artwork for the National Rail No Boundaries Exhibition.

 Liz has a mental health condition called Dermatillomania or Compulsive Skin Picking. She refocuses the compulsive behaviour into art. To help her stave off anxiety when she travels, Liz creates artwork on discarded newspapers which she then hands out to curious passengers. For Liz travelling without boundaries raises awareness of mental health through creative acts of kindness.

An off-peak return ticket from London to Wool with a Railcard costs just £34.80. Railcards save you 1/3 on your rail travel. By using a Railcard Liz saved herself £17.90 on her journey.

 

Emma Johns

 

Emma travelled from Long Buckby to London Euston on Northwestern Railway to attend the launch of the No Boundaries exhibition.

Emma was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in January 2018, following decades of medication and counselling for depression. A ten-week art therapy course led her to developing a passion for art, whilst also giving her focus.

An off-peak return ticket from Long Buckby to London Euston with a Railcard costs just £19.65. Saving you £20.20 on the journey.

 

Sian Healey

 

Sian is a Guide Dog owner and a visually impaired artist, who is sensitive to light. Before Sian had a family and lived in London she'd try to hide her sight problems, because it made her feel vulnerable.

She turned to Guide Dogs when she lost her confidence to be able to travel alone and has been working with them and Arriva Trains Wales to make rail travel more accessible. Arriva provides free travel for Guide Dog training centres so that instructors can take dogs in training on short local journeys by train. This is a valuable part of their development, as it provides them with experience of using public transport and busy environments. They also offer an Assistance Dogs card, which can be placed in the seat reservation holder above the adjacent seat.  This helps inform other customers and staff that there is a dog occupying the space in front of the seat.

For Sian travelling with no boundaries means having a greater sense of independence and highlighting that not all visual impairments are the same. She wants to be able to help more people to feel confident about travelling. 

Sian travels from Cardiff to Leamington Spa with Guide Dogs with a Railcard costs just £19.65. Saving you £20.20 on the journey.

 

Tanya and Mark

Tanya and Mark travelled from Telford to Aberystwyth with Arriva Trains Wales to create a piece of artwork inspired by their journeys.

Mark is an artist with Autism and he makes his paintings from memories of journeys of the past. Mark articulates his creative wishes through his creative practices and is an artist of perspective drawing. He attends ArtStudio01 which is directed by Tanya, who joined him on his journey. They met through their love of art. A lot of the time Mark’s work is influenced by the journeys he goes on and they’re influenced by memories of his family and his childhood memories.

For Tanya, to travel without boundaries would mean to her that she was able to travel on the train as equally as non-disabled passengers.

An off-peak return ticket from Telford to Aberystwyth with a Railcard costs just £16.50. Saving you £8.50 on the journey.