“Art has the power to render sorrow beautiful,
– Brene Brown
make loneliness a shared experience,
and transform despair into hope.”
The expression of a person’s feelings, ideas and humanness depends on a release. It is in art that one can find such a release. Art provides a safe refuge where a person can unmask emotions, process traumatic experiences and complex inner struggles not otherwise discovered or processed without art as the vehicle for expression. It is in art that we can tell our story without needing the complexity of words to share it and connect with others. In art we heal. Together.
Through long standing evidence we see that art enhances emotion while reducing stress for both the observer and the artist themselves. Millions of people are impacted by mental illness on a yearly basis. One out of five individuals in the United States will be diagnosed with a mental illness in within the given year. This does not account for those who are unable to seek diagnosis, living with the symptoms on their own. Mental illness’s impact is expansive and reaches across every border.
The Art Studio would like to partner with our local community mental health providers to promote health, healing, and wellness through artistic self-expression. We are calling individuals from all ages and backgrounds to participate in this year in a show focused on our personal experiences with mental health. We ask that agencies and providers encourage individuals they serve to express their beautifully unique and powerful experiences of mental health in art.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness month, “The Art of Mental Health” exhibition will open with a free public reception on April 30th from 2pm to 6pm. All entries need to be submitted to the Art Studio between the dates of April 26th and April 29th. Each person is allowed one entry that may not exceed 16 X 16 inches in size. All approved entries submitted by April 29th, will be on view in The Art Studio’s main gallery from April 30th to May 4th. A closing reception will be held on May 4th from 5pm to 8pm as part of The Art Studio’s First Thursday activities. For those who would like to participate in the spoken word portion of the exhibition, time slots of 10 minutes or less will be available for signup in advance. Greg Busceme will be providing clay demonstrations throughout the evening, during which participants are welcome to try their hand at pottery.
We request the support of our local community health agencies through sponsorships. These sponsorships will not only support the event but will also promote continues community mental health by offering free art classes to our community. For every $100 donated, we will be able to fund class time and materials for an individual at the Art Studio.