Falling UP 9.0

The Falling UP 9.0 exhibition took place at the Fire Station Creative in 2024. This was the ninth iteration of Dr Drew Walker's Falling UP exhibition advocacy project on the theme of art, mental illness and recovery. The exhibition featured the artworks of 46 participants from our art collective, ranging from paintings, digital artworks represented through numerous framed QR codes, and installation pieces - in addition to highlighting elements from our ongoing public art projects. Across the exhibition's 6 week display, some artworks were shuffled and repositioned with new pieces being added. The changing state of display meant that repeat viewings of the exhibition lead to new experiences and encounters as it transformed and evolved. There was also a special memorial element celebrating the life & art of our dear departed Falling UP collaborator Bill Runciman. Also, especially for Falling UP 9.0, the renowned outsider artist Mary Barnes posthumously became a member of our Falling UP art-collective, with 5 of her paintings on display integrated amongst other Falling UP artists' works. This was possible due to 'Falling UP Mary Barnes', our collaborative project with the hereditary keeper of Falkland Palace, in celebration for what would have been Mary's 101st birthday. Being our second exhibition at the Fire Station Creative, after 8 years, it was noteworthy that in the time between, Dr Walker completed his PhD studies into the the House of Artists at Gugging in Austria, and set up the charity Falling UP Together (SCIO), and developed the 'Living in Art' studio at the Fire Station Creative, as a means to adapt & deliver Gugging's processes for Scotland.