Gosport artist wins at We Can Do It award for exhibition on mental health

The 38-year-old was named as the winner of Best Art/Community Project at The News’ We Can Do It awards.

The judges were impressed with Daniel’s art exhibition held at Gosport Gallery, which he created to help people combat their mental health problems.

Daniel, who has overcome his own anxiety and mental health issues, was shocked with the win.

He said: ‘It was completely unexpected. I didn’t even realise I was nominated until a couple of weeks ago so to win was amazing. It was a shock but it’s brilliant.

‘It is important to celebrate art and the nominees show how much there is in the community.

‘It’s fantastic for everyone to get that recognition.’

Daniel, from Gosport, was given the chance to hold his first solo exhibition after taking part in competitions at Gosport Gallery. He chose the subject of mental health after thinking too many people suffer in silence.

He added: ‘It took a friend of mine opening up about his mental health problems to realise that other people go through the same thing.

‘Most people are suffering in silence, like I was, so I created the exhibition which had paintings and poetry.’

The We Can Do It awards celebrate the unsung heroes of our community from businesses helping others to young children raising money.

There are 10 categories in the award which range from Best Volunteer to Best School. Each category had a winner and runner-up.

The Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School at HMS Sultan, in Gosport, won the runner-up trophy for Best Art/Community Project.

The category was sponsored by the New Theatre Royal, in Portsmouth, which also hosted the awards.

Air engineering technicians from HMS Sultan visited schools in Gosport to help paint equipment and also clear rubbish.

The community project is something the base does every year.