Open Door Charity has announced Vor. – a week of programming this September in the basement of what was previously the Treasury Annex in Birkenhead.

From Wednesday, 6 to Saturday, 9 September the Annex – rebranded and to be developed as Joy – will host a mixture of art exhibitions, music, wellbeing activities, and open discussions on mental health support.

The Treasury Annex basement prior to its Vor transformation

From the Bloom Building in Birkenhead, Open Door offers free mental health support for those aged 17-35 with no waiting lists (Bazaar), a stress management programme (Colours), and an eating disorder support group (Mysa), as well as a service for looked after children (OOMOO) in another of the charity’s sites: Lüft.

Lee Pennington, founder and director of ODC, said: “Open Door was created as a way of reimagining what mental health support can be like. We’ve removed the clinical backdrop that often surrounds similar provisions, and incorporated social action, arts, and culture.”

“That’s what Joy will be too – a space that brings all these areas together, but on an even bigger scale including other stakeholders such as the NHS. Vor. is then us condensing everything we know Joy will be into a week-long snapshot for the public.”

Open Door, along with partners from the NHS, secured nearly £4 million in Wirral Council Town Deal funding earlier this year, and will officially open in the spring of 2025.

Programming begins at 10am each weekday, alongside several fixed exhibitions throughout the week in the Vor. Gallery. These include work from Convenience Gallery and Happy Times Activities, an exhibition of awareness raising artwork from Mysa, and a “Craftivism” work progress from Jen Vanderpool.

Convenience Gallery’s ‘Not a cloud in the sky’, 2022 (Image: Andy Shaw)

Wednesday and Thursday feature sketching classes, workshops, exhibitions, open rehearsals, physical activities such as Panorama Yoga, and a plant swap, from groups and individuals such as One Wirral CIC, Mysa, RAWD, Molly Mural, Soothe Social, and Inner Bliss Wellbeing. Wednesday will also feature an NHS roundtable conversation, discussing the future of Joy.

Friday is a Convenience Gallery takeover, exploring community history with exhibitions, artwork, and film screenings from 10am to 7pm. This will be followed by one of only two ticketed parts of the week: “Gathering” – a basement party in collaboration with Sugar Shack Soundsystem.

NTS DJ Giovanna will headline Vor. Loveclub – Open Door’s basement party on Saturday, 9 September

Programming starts at 12pm on Saturday with a Convenience Gallery talk and Q+A. Vor. finishes with Vor. Loveclub – a club night headlined by Giovanna, with support from Kieran, Red City Disco, and Strike a Pose.

To book tickets to Vor. Loveclub and Gathering, to find timings and further information, and for updates on Joy visit https://linktr.ee/vorinfo