“Mindful: Exploring Mental Health Through Art,” an exhibition that uses art to communicate concepts of mental illness, opened at the Daura Gallery on Friday. An opening reception will be held Tuesday, September 20, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the gallery.
Curated by the Society for Contemporary Craft, “Mindful” features 30 works created by 14 contemporary artists with an emphasis on the topics of anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, and PTSD. The exhibition explores the impact that mental illness has on society and how the arts can encourage positive self expression and guide effective mental health promotion and treatment. The show also examines links between mental disorders and artistic tendencies through the inclusion of artworks made by those who have been diagnosed with mental illnesses and those who have not.
The exhibition highlights a variety of techniques and forms that include innovative art expressions rooted in traditional craft materials, as well as art that explores unexpected relationships between craft and painting, sculpture, conceptual, and installation art.
The Daura Gallery is hosting the traveling exhibition to highlight excellent art that generates an important conversation. “It focuses on a social issue that affects us all,” Dr. Barbara Rothermel, director of the Daura Gallery, recently told The Burg. “…The exhibition certainly has impact beyond the gallery walls. It examines creativity’s role in mental health and resiliency and most of all, in compassion.”
Read the full article about “Mindful” in The Burg.
“Mindful” will be on view in the Daura Gallery until December 10.
The Daura Gallery also is hosting “Elma Pratt: Mexico in Color,” until October 6. On Sunday, September 25, the Daura Gallery will host a lecture by history professor Dr. Nichole Sanders and international relations professor Dr. David Richards titled “Life and Art in Mexico: Elma Pratt Revisited.” The lecture will begin at 3 p.m.