The Art of Movement
Open Door - November 2007 pages 11-12
To celebrate the launch of Move It For MS, our new exercise DVD, the MS Trust launched a nationwide photography competition in July. 'The Art of Movement' asked entrants to capture how they incorporate exercise and movement into their daily lives.
Research shows the importance of exercise to people with MS; however, survey results indicate that only around half of people with MS exercise regularly. We hoped that the competition would reveal people of all levels of ability participating in exercise and that the subsequent exhibitions would encourage more people with MS to participate in sports and activities, and you certainly didn't let us down!
We were overwhelmed by the response to the competition, with over 120 entries. The standard of photography and variety of activities - from archery to windsurfing - was inspiring and we couldn't wait to get the exhibition on the road.
The competition was generously supported by Amateur Photographer magazine, which provided two runners up prizes of a one year subscription to the magazine and organised the winner's prize of a two year home study course at The School of Photographic Imaging.
The judging panel included actress and director Alison Peebles, Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society Douglas May and the eminent photographer Barry Lategan. Alison Peebles said "This competition is a celebration of ability not disability. It is important to move away from the common stereotype that MS always means severe disability. These photos provide a great opportunity to capture the achievements in our own movements."
The winning photograph was taken by Alison Binnie from Edinburgh. Having never entered a competition before, Alison was overjoyed at winning and said, "It was an amazing feeling to win this competition. It has inspired me and given me the confidence to keep working hard at my favourite hobby, photography, and the aqua aerobics too of course! I am now really excited about starting the prize photography course".
Thank you to everyone who entered the Art of Movement competition and to those of you who managed to visit the exhibitions in London, Liverpool and Edinburgh; we enjoyed meeting you all.
Move it for MS launch
The launch of the Move it for MS DVD coincided with the opening of the Art of Movement exhibition at the Menier Gallery. Many of the participants in the DVD gathered along with Mr Motivator himself, fresh from a flight from Jamaica.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Motivator said that prior to participating in this project he had always assumed that if he had any problems with movement and lost any functions he would consider that life was not worth living. He now recognised that whilst personally he had been very fortunate in staying fit and healthy, he had also been completely wrong and that a diagnosis of MS or any other physically limiting condition could actually be the start of a much more meaningful part of one's life. This change in his attitude and his understanding would influence his approach to all future projects and life in general, and he felt privileged to have been involved in the production of Move it for MS.
Alison Binnie talks about her prize-winning photo
I have always been interested in photography but I had never entered a photographic competition before. The MS specialist nurse had given me some leaflets including one about the MS Trust. When I visited their website and spotted the Art of Movement competition, I suddenly had the idea that it might be fun to take a photo of my weekly Aqua class.
I have always liked Aqua Aerobics because it boosts my cardiovascular fitness and my overall muscle strength and flexibility. The water provides support for my body so the impact on my joints is much less. I do love swimming and I often enjoy a quick swim before breakfast when our local pool is quiet. Now that I have MS (diagnosed in 2004) I find being in the water is the most relaxing and enjoyable activity for me. It really does help keep me as physically fit as possible. It is energising and good fun and we all enjoy the social chat!
I knew that it would be important to seek permission to take the photo and to prepare everybody for what I was about to do - the pool staff then the class teacher and finally the class. It was a bit embarrassing to stand up in front of everyone in my swimming costume! Everyone was very supportive when I told them that I had MS and that the photo I was about to take was for a photographic competition. There was a moment's silence while everybody thought about what I had just said and we were all quickly back to work. Everyone seemed happy enough to join in on the idea and nobody seemed to want to leave the pool so that was a great start!
I took the picture from the spectators' gallery. My thought was that it might look a little more unusual and less embarrassing for the ladies in the pool if I was further away from them. I also thought it might be very colourful if everyone was holding their blue and white floats up in the air. It was great fun as the whole class were laughing and jumping in the air to complete the exercise. I had no idea how it would all work out but I was very keen to try and capture some movement in the water in the photo if possible. I needed to use my tripod as my balance is poor and my handshake appalling.
When I received the call from the MS Trust to say that my photo was one of 25 chosen for the three exhibitions in London, Liverpool and Edinburgh I was delighted. A further phone call soon after to say that I had won the whole competition left me feeling shocked, amazed and absolutely thrilled! I attended the exhibition at Surgeon's Hall in Edinburgh and was delighted to see all the excellent exhibits and I am now really looking forward to enjoying my prize - the online photographic course.
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