The Dugdale Centre has awoken from its long enforced period of inactivity. The new opening hours are 11am to 3pm Monday to Friday. So far the Café, Gift Shop and Gallery have reopened, and on 14th July they will be followed by the Museum and Local Studies Centre. The gallery plays host to a new exhibition by Palmers Green artist Patrick Samuel celebrating what he enjoyed about lockdown and his eagerness to to paint during the period of isolation.Patrick Samuel - BEYOND ISOLATION
8 July – 4 September 2020
Dugdale Centre • 39 London Road • Enfield • London • EN2 6DS
About the exhibition
2020 is the year the world stood still. In that stillness, some of us found the peace and calm they’d often yearned for. For Patrick Samuel’s 12th solo exhibition, he’s brought to life many of the places he wandered to in his imagination during the months of the lockdown, and before. He shares these moments with us and invites us to explore these inner worlds and go beyond our isolation.
“I had so much planned for this year, and then suddenly it all came to a stop. Like everyone else, I had to get used to that daily isolation. It took a while before I realised how much I was enjoying it; the stress of travel, the anxiety about events, the hustle of exhibitions. It all came to a halt and I was free to create from my own inner worlds from morning to night. Along the way I realised how precious this time was and how eager I was to paint as a way to survive the lockdown with at least some of my mental health intact!”
About the artist
Patrick Samuel is an exhibiting artist and musician with autism and ADHD. Having returned to art after a 20-year break, he picked up painting and drawing again when he started his daily art therapy in December 2016. A time of prolific work as well as recognition followed, and Patrick has embraced his neurodiversity as a gift rather than seeing it as a disability; he’s found his voice and his calling.
Patrick has had several solo exhibitions and produced two albums with “neuro-diverse” music he wrote. His work and his story have been recognised in local media and featured in magazines as well as on BBC Breakfast and BBC News online. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, Patrick has been sharing his experiences at various events and conferences throughout the UK.