A BASCHURCH woman is set to open up her first solo art exhibition to the public in the coming weeks.

Grace Currie, originally from Ellesmere, will show off her artwork at an exhibition in Shrewsbury between February 19 and February 23.

Grace has had cognitive impairment since she suffered a brain injury in 2010 when she was hit by a car.

Since then, Grace has found a passion for art, and is now looking forward to her exhibition entitled “Terror and Joy”.

A fine art student at Chester University, Grace said she is looking forward to exhibiting her paintings for the first time at a solo show.

“My artwork is really natural – it’s very abstract,” he said.

“I’ve been doing it for four or five years now, and I absolutely love it.

“My personal art tutor Sue has helped me a lot with my work, I love her, she’s amazing – I’d like to give her a massive thanks for helping me with it.”

Grace is studying her final year in university spread over three years as she looks to continue improving her artwork and to go on to do more exhibitions.

Her choice behind choosing to study art comes down to the enjoyment she takes from painting and expressing herself through artwork.

She added: “It’s very encouraging getting through the work and learning at university, I really enjoy it.

“I have a tutor at uni who helps me with my reading and writing which is nice.

“I love being able to do something I like every day – art is by far my favourite hobby.

“It is something which helps me to relieve my anxiety, but also something that helps me to express myself.

“Every day I spend at least an hour in the studio painting and working on things for my exhibition.”

Grace also gave thanks to her boyfriend Ben. She said: “Ben has been amazing, he’s such a big help.

“Life has been better since I met him and I now have my own house and I’m starting to gain more independence – this is reflected in my work.”

Grace’s assistant Lynsey Arnott said she’s really looking forward to the exhibition and believes it will be the first of many.

“For grace, it’s very much that the accident was then, and this is now.

“I love Grace’s work – art has helped her through a lot, over the years her work has come on so well, and it’s really nice to see such a nice progression in her work.

“This is Grace’s first solo exhibition and I’m really looking forward to it, there will be plenty more to come after it.”

The exhibition takes place at Participate Artspace Gallery, Riverside, Shrewsbury, Tuesday, February 19 until Saturday, February 23 between 10am and 4pm.