The Wyandot Behavioral Health Network is the host of a StART the conversation art exhibit on Friday, May 20, at the Velvet Nova, 705 N. 6th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
The exhibit is part of the Downtown KCK Third Friday Art Walk.
Hours of the Wyandot BHN exhibit are 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 20.
A spokesman for Wyandot BHN stated that individual who have lived with mental health challenges often face a stigmatizing language that can make it difficult to fully explain what they experience. Art often plays a meaningful part in the recovery journey of individuals who face mental health challenges, the spokesman stated.
The stART the conversation art exhibit will amplify the voices of individuals with lived experience, as well as community artists, in the hope of starting open and honest conversations about mental health, according to the spokesman.
Each of nearly two dozen artists included in the exhibition have a story to share about their own mental health journeys. The artwork featured in the exhibit speaks to a number of topics, including depression, psychosis, grief and loss, self-acceptance and recovery, according to the spokesman.
“I hope there are people who come into this exhibition who have never even considered that we can talk openly about mental health,” said Jordan Graves, Wyandot BHN therapist. “I hope that there is someone who walks in and can look at a piece of artwork and see their child or even themselves in it and recognize that everything is going to be OK.”
The art exhibit is free and open to the public.