Migraine Art Exhibition

By Derek Robinson

The first National Migraine Art Competition, jointly sponsored by The British Migraine Association and WB Pharmaceuticals Limited (the manufacturers of Dixarit), was an unqualified success, with well over 300 entries received from adults, children, schools and colleges.

Following a prize giving ceremony at the City of London Migraine Clinic, Postgraduate Medical Centres throughout the country were offered the opportunity of mounting a display of Migraine Art.

Response to the offer was so great that it was necessary to divide the exhibits into three touring units, each of which is fully committed until late November.

Typical of the reaction to the touring exhibition is this note from the Postgraduate Medical Centre at Poole General Hospital: 'I write to thank you for the exhibition held at our Centre in March. The paintings were excellent and most expressive. Those who viewed the Exhibition - doctors, nurses, ancillary staff, general practitioners and general public - were all impressed by the quality of the paintings, the suffering they portrayed so vividly. It was very kind of you to afford us the privilege of having this exhibition at our Centre.'

During September, the three units will be combined for an Exhibition at the Charing Cross Hospital, London during the Migraine Trust's Fourth International Symposium.

There is no doubt that the Exhibition will be one of the high spots of the Symposium, as the entries have drawn many favourable comments from the medical profession.

Dr. Marcia Wilkinson, the eminent neurologist, has written 'in the literature available, there are many excellent descriptions of the various visual disorders which may occur in migraine, but most people have only had the opportunity of seeing a relatively small number of drawings made by the migraine sufferers themselves ...' This competition 'has given a unique opportunity to assess what the patient sees'.

We are delighted to report that transparencies prepared from some of the competition entries will be extensively used to illustrate a lecture that Dr. Wilkinson is giving in New Orleans this summer.

In addition to this, Dr. Wilkinson has prepared the text to accompany sets of slides that will be available to all Consultant Neurologists later on in the year.

Interest in the competition entries has also been expressed by a number of journals wishing to use authoritative illustrations for articles on migraine and headache.

To date two entries have appeared in 'Doctors' Answers' No. 45, one will shortly be appearing in 'Insight' No. 83, and we have just heard that several will be used in 'Health and Fitness' - a Goodhead Publication.

This, then, is the background to a success story - the first National Migraine Art Competition.

In this edition of the News Letter, you will find details of the second National Migraine Art Competition.

The rules are very much as before, but the total prize money available is now £ 1,000.

Why not send in your entry now. Who knows, you may find yourself with the winners, enjoying a celebration drink at London's Cafe Royal sometime next July.

References

Nicola U, Podoll K. L'aura di Giorgio de Chirico. Arte emicranica e pittura metafisica. Mimesis, Milano 2003.
Robinson D. Migraine Art exhibition. Migraine Newsletter 1982; (no. 3): 15-16.

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