For Immediate Release

Brushes with Life: Art, Artists, and Mental Illness

Supporting Recovery. Challenging Stigma.

June 18, 2010 (CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA) — Brushes with Life: Art, Artists, and Mental Illness, the award-winning creative arts program supporting recovery for people living with severe mental illness is hosting a public reception to celebrate the opening of its 16th art exhibition, Tuesday, June 22, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm on the third floor of the UNC Neurosciences Hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
This free event honors the more than 50 local artists whose works are featured in the show. Held in the Brushes with Life Gallery, the reception will include refreshments, a poetry reading, and live music by The Three Amigos. Parking is available in the UNC Hospitals Dogwood Deck off Manning Drive and in nearby campus lots. Directions to UNC Hospitals can be found at http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/aboutus/howtofindus.

"We're excited to celebrate and recognize the talent of our patient artists," says John Gilmore, MD, the Thad and Alice Eure Distinguished Professor in the UNC Department of Psychiatry and director of the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health. "We know that medical treatment is vital for a person's recovery from mental illness, but we also know that involvement in activities like the creative arts supports that process as well."

No one knows this better than Colette Corr. Corr has been living with mental illness for over 30 years and is one of many continuing artists displaying her artwork in the exhibition. She enjoys the creative aspect of Brushes with Life, she says, and points out that: "There is also an incredible feeling of belonging." When asked what she would most like others to know about mental illness, Corr states, "There is a daily effort to recover. It is an uphill climb that doesn't happen overnight. "
Part of that climb involves coping with the stigma that may accompany a severe mental illness. "The medical community knows more today than ever about mental illness," says Gilmore, "But that doesn't mean society accepts it as easily as other chronic health conditions such as diabetes or cancer." The twice-a-year art shows allow patient artists to promote a broader understanding of the human side of mental illness by connecting with the larger community around their artwork.
The Brushes with Life Gallery is the program's primary exhibition space. From time to time, the all-volunteer organizing committee pulls together traveling shows, as well. Organizers include hospital staff, patient artists, family members, community volunteers, and mental health professionals.

"It's amazing to think about all we do with so few resources," states Julie Pace, MS, OTR/L, an occupational therapist with the Schizophrenia Treatment and Evaluation Program (STEP) inpatient and outpatient units and co-chair of Brushes with Life Art Gallery. "We receive some donations and we raise a bit of money by selling note cards featuring works of art by patient-artists. So as you can probably guess, we're very open to receiving contributions."

A joint program of the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health and UNC Hospitals, Brushes with Life: Art, Artists, and Mental Illness is a creative arts program supporting recovery for people living with severe mental illness in the Chapel Hill, North Carolina area. Since opening in 2000, the program and gallery have been highlighted in national, state, and local media, have garnered numerous honors, and have been featured in the award-winning documentary film Brushes with Life. The Gallery is located on the third floor of the UNC Neurosciences Hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is open 8:00 am - 8:00 pm, seven days a week. Parking is available in the UNC Hospitals Dogwood Deck off Manning Drive and in nearby campus lots. Artists who wish to sell their work receive 100% of the proceeds. To purchase artwork, make a donation, volunteer, or find out more, visit unccmh.org or email stepart@med.unc.edu.

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For more information or to arrange interviews with Brushes with Life artists, contact
Bebe Smith, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Assistant Professor
Co-director of the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health
besmith@med.unc.edu
919.843.3794