Whether you are young or old, art helps to relieve stress and gives you the tools to express yourself.

That's what both children and adults who went along to an exhibition in Rochester have been discovering.

Youngsters who attend the Gochi Academy of Creative Arts, were showing off their own artwork at the event which was held at Borstal Village Hall.

Meenatchi Gopal, 36, the artist who runs the academy, allows children's talent to blossom by teaching creativity over technique during her workshops.

She gets pupils to shuffle their art around for others to work on, encourages them paint without a paintbrush and tells them to run around a table while painting.

Mrs Gopal said:“I tell them, trees and the leaves don’t really need to be green. You need to create your own world.

"The kids might grow up and become doctors or engineers or anything apart from art. They can use this creativity and instant thinking in wherever they go.”

Divya Nagarajan, mother to student, Dhiya Devaprasath, six, thinks art is doing wonders for her child's character building.

She said: “She's becoming more decisive, more independent and she has become more calm."

Alex Patterson, 42, Labour councillor for Rochester West, was invited along to the event to present certificates to the youngsters. He said after school activities are vital to children's well-being.

He added: “I think it's great to give young people an outlet for their creativity. Otherwise that's lost and then very quickly they become teenagers and the focus is on passing exams."

Simon Mills, 66, an artist who paints the Medway landscape, attended as a special guest.

Mr Mills said: “There are certain things in life that you can't explain in words and you only understand through your feelings. "And if you don't have that connection to your feelings, then it is really just existence.

“Art gives you that enchantment with the world which mathematics and spelling don’t.”

Another artist who was invited along was pensioner, Peter Reeds. He encourages everyone to paint their stress away.

Mr Reeds 72, added: “If you come home and you paint, it's your own world and you own it and no one else can affect it.

"It's just you, your paint and your canvas. The rest disappears. That is beautiful, so psychologically helpful to everyone.”

Lola Oyewusi, Labour councillor for Aylesford and Walderslade, was part of a similar art project for the elderly, set up to get pensioners out of the house.

She said: “Art brings people together. It combats loneliness and isolation, improves our physical well being."

Gochi Academy runs on Sundays at Luton Junior School from 5pm-7pm and the next exhibition will be in June.

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