There is a shop window down on the roundabout at the bottom of Eastgate next to the Job Centre. It’s one of those windows you walk past, and think “I wonder what goes on in there…”
Anyway, over the past couple of weeks it has had some arty type writing in the window which says “Coming soon – Frame of Mind” and a logo for the Love Arts festival.
Having passed this window often over the past few years, I decided I would investigate further to find out what all this meant.
The sign over the window says “Multiple Choice”, but the door I entered through has a small sign which says “Leeds Wellbeing Centre”… curiouser and curiouser!!
Once inside, I found myself in a lovely warm orange space, somewhat akin to a posh hotel reception or lounge area… not at all what I had expected.
The helpful woman at reception, called Gill, informed me that I was in the Leeds Wellbeing Centre – a social enterprise venture which delivers wonderful massages and therapies to paying customers, the profits from which then go directly to enable more vulnerable people like carers and people coping with mental health issues, to also have the chance to benefit from these treatments.
Gill and I ended up chatting for some time about the centre and the people who use it… Fascinating stuff! I ended up booking myself in for a reflexology session the following week, and buying two gift vouchers – early Christmas shopping for a couple of friends – they’ll love that!
I had been distracted from my original mission, however – to find out more about this ‘Frame of Mind’ business.
Gill led me through a door into a larger reception area which she explained was the heart of Multiple Choice.
Confused? I was!
Gill introduced me to Caroline, who is the head honcho at Multiple Choice, and she explained that Multiple Choice is a small local charity delivering community rehabilitation services to adults from Leeds who are working towards recovery following years of issues relating to addiction and mental health. The Leeds Wellbeing Centre is a part of the services Multiple Choice provides.
The main reception area is decorated with lots of art works, and Caroline explained they were all created by clients of the service. This led us on to talking about the ‘Frame of Mind’, which is a project Multiple Choice are involved in as part of the city-wide Love Arts festival which is a partnership between Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust and the Arts and Minds Network, and runs until 16 November. It all sounds very exciting and this link will tell you more about the festival
‘Frame of Mind’ is a collaborative piece of work which has involved workers and clients of Multiple Choice visiting a variety of organisations around the city, and engaging staff, clients, residents, customers and visitors of, for example, Leeds City Museum, Hollybush Farm, St George’s Crypt, in the production of mini art works portraying individual approaches to mental health.
From the 7th until the 11th of November, the Multiple Choice shop window will showcase over a hundred frames completed by a huge range of individuals in our city, and passers-by will be invited to come in to complete their own personal frames.
The reception area began to fill up with people having a break “from the Smart Art group” and other people began arriving at the project for a meeting about service user involvement.
I realised I had been in Multiple Choice for almost an hour! I thanked Caroline for allowing my investigations to progress, said my farewells and left Multiple Choice to find myself back outside on the pavement next to the roundabout.
Looking back at the building, I thought how strange it is that we know so little about what goes on in so many of the buildings we walk past day in day out, and what amazing adventures are to be had by just pushing open a door, or peering through a window.
I am so looking forward to my reflexology session in the Wellbeing Centre, and will definitely be going along to add my little work of art to the ‘Frame of Mind’ exhibition at Multiple Choice. I hope to see you there!
What a lovely little post Emma! it is curious little place to find and such a fantastic and enterprising way to raise money for people using Multiple Choice x