
AN EXHIBITION of portraits has gone on show at a cafe in Frome as the campaign to save the town’s Routes youth centre continues.
18 photographs and quotes from young people and volunteers from the youth centre have been installed at Cafe La Strada on Cheap Street.
The exhibition, created by local photographer Tim Gander and Routes manager Sarah Stobbart, will shine a light on how important the youth centre is to local people as they try to raise enough money to keep it open past March.
Tim said, “When I saw Routes’s Twitter plea before Christmas saying that their funding would end in March it struck me that I could help them at the same time as getting my photographic teeth into a project with a really worthwhile cause.
“When I met Sarah we discussed the idea and she suggested making an exhibition of it to get the message out into the community.”
Sarah added, ‘This exhibition has gone from concept to reality in record time. In no small way this is down to the incredible goodwill and generosity of Tim Gander, Mount Art Studio who did the printing, Studio Prints who framed them, Nik Jones who did the design and Jude Kelly at Cafe La Strada who has generously donated the wall space.
“The young people who participated in the project and were kind enough to share their personal stories also have my eternal thanks. We’re still in need of funding to complete the project and of course for the wider Routes service. I am so overjoyed by the results of this project and I truly hope the people of Frome enjoy the portraits and their stories.”
The exhibition will run until the end of March.
To donate to Routes you can either text MEND41 £AMOUNT (between £1 and £10) to 70070, or donate via the website www.mendipymca.org.uk