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| Ghanaian flag drawn whilst in isolation. |
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| Watching TV on lockdown. |
Richie is one of our newer regular members and has been coming to the Gate on a regular basis for a couple of years. Despite being newer than some though he is involved in a great deal of what we do there and besides his visual art he produces songs (which we'll feature in a future update), is one of the presenters on our Gate Kicks radio show, is a member of our free music collective Jamaica and also has much to say in the learning disability awareness training we provide as well as being an active member of our self advocacy group.
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| The view from Richie's window |
Much of Richie's visual artwork is autobiographical such as the Ghanaian flag presented above which reflects his heritage or the sculptural work he does at the centre which often based around his favourite television programmes or films (see the Harry Potter doll and bed presented here for an example of this).
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| Harry Potter doll and bed |
Richie is a mellow guy who loves football Chelsea and music and though he keeps himself to himself to a certain extent is also up for a laugh with the other Gate patrons in the chill out room.
Richie says it has been difficult for him during the lockdown because he keeps hearing on the news about being people dying and it depresses him but also says he is doing okay and is watching lots of TV and films to keep himself busy and only going out if he really needs to.
In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute - https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund
