If you’ve visited the centre lately, you may have seen the wonderful new mural hanging on the rear of the building.

This new piece replaces the graffiti art that was created for and during Here Comes The Sun several years ago. In need of a change for this year’s festival, we commissioned Alice Banfield, a recent graduate of the University of Reading, to create a new piece for 2018. She began work on the mural ahead of the festival and returned last week to finish it, working tirelessly against the elements to do so!

Frustrated by media’s portrayal of autism, Banfield’s practice confronts the anxiety built from society’s misconceptions. Through painting, Banfield addresses the stigmas that society imposes, using an autistic narrative to create a platform for awareness and acceptance.

Banfield uses vibrant, bold colours that she associates with social anxiety attacks that occur when the mind is overwhelmed and vulnerable. The repetitive mark-making and patterns used represent a form of coping with mental health.

We think it’s a wonderful new addition to the centre and we’ll be proud to keep it on display for many years to come.

Alice was one of several new artists found by our volunteer Simone as part of our Salon series of art events. Look out for more of those in the coming months and explore the hidden depths that the reading artistic community has to offer.