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Art and mental health issues, they seem to go together

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Anglicare’s artsandminds.org.au in Brisbane has produced a web-series and a billboard campaign across the city to tell of artists and their commitment to increasing awareness of mental health.

The church organisation has paired five emerging artists affected by mental health issues with five established artists to create artworks that will be auctioned at an event on May 31.

The five emerging artists are Ipswich-based indigenous artist Ailsa Walsh, the Gold Coast’s Samuel Dunn, Marie Robertson from Brisbane, Woombye’s Liz Pepper and Spectator Jonze from Eight Mile Plains. They have been paired with five leading and established Queensland artists in Sean Leahy (pictured above), Matt Stewart, Tracey Keller, Tracey Eaton and Aunty Denise Proud.

Ten canvases were created by the 10 artists and filmed over an eight-hour period with the paired artists working at the same time and to the same brief to create their pieces.

Anglicare Executive Director Karen Crouch said: “Arts&Minds is our dedicated campaign to increase the public conversation about mental health. We believe that more transparent and open dialogue about mental health will remove the fear so many people have about the issue, and help more Queenslanders talk and seek help when they need it”.

“The five inspiring emerging artists have all been brave enough to share their experiences with mental health challenges, and for this we incredibly thankful; their coming out and talking about their experiences, and then sharing these experiences via their artworks, is humbling to say the least,” she said.

2 responses to “Art and mental health issues, they seem to go together

  1. The problem is our Art Institutions have NO official polocies for the treatment of Artists, NONE. I asked Museums Australia. So here we have Institutions paid for by Public Funds totally unaccountable except to their political masters who employ them.

    Artists are fourth class citizens, speak out of line and you will be PUNISHED!!! I know!!! Art Institutions have no idea of Duty of Care when dealing with artists. There is no real artist’s Union as such. Somehow the horrible individuals who run our Art Institutions are ALLOWED to get away with befhaviour that many other Govt Departments could never get away with!!!

    I’m sorry but we live and work in a totally HORRIBLE and ABUSIVE art world…and its mostly done with Public Funds. Somehow the Directors and Management of out Art Institutions are able to totally disregard Artists, something they NEVER would with the usual punter through their doors. It’s a DISGRACE!!!

  2. In fact after a number of appaling incidents with Art Institutions I would love to have the money to SUE those Institutions for the Mental Health impacts CAUSED by having to deal with those Institutions!

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