Coping: Transcending Through Creation

September 19, 2021 - October 22, 2021

Index Art Center

in this dizzying moment, my experiences and work as a nurse has left me with deep sadness, grief, exhaustion and anger. creating despite the odds has been a personal journey where expression has made space for the murky to extend beyond me. our bodies and emotions can only safely handle a limited amount of stress, trauma results whenever an experience exceeds our abilities to handle and cope with its consequences.

art/creation has the potential to heal, inspire, relieve, as well as give voice and understanding to the invisible. this exhibition aims to bridge and facilitate dialogues about mental health in our community during a collectively traumatic time. mental health is often stigmatized; we seek to open a space of comfort, where the work presented can allow people to feel seen, heard, and accepted.

for this call, artists were invited to reflect on the following prompts:

how is the way you create influenced by your mental health? is the way you create a form of caring for your mental health? does the way you share help with communicating the emotional weight of this time? how can sharing your work facilitate dialogue about mental health in our communities?

Participating Artists:

Nora Evita Aresti, Shantell Batista, Axe Binondo, Katie Bullock, Marcy Chevali, Eleven, Gisel

Endara (Yawati), Gerardo Esteban, Benedicto Figueroa, Monica Flores, Y. Fransheska,

Rosemary Gonzalez, Jasmine Holder, Indigleaux, Rita Jimenez, Ayana Kareem, Monifa Kincaid,

Esmé Naumes-Givens, Naya Nicole, Olive, Bleriot Thompson, Eddie Villanueva

displayed below are gallery view images exhibited at Index Art Center on 237 Washington St, Newark, NJ 07102

sally helmi

sally helmi