Current Exhibition
PhotoVoice: Look at Me – Disregard the Labels
Exhibition dates: August 25 – September 12, 2014
Artist Reception: Wednesday, August 27, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Gallery Talk with the Artists at 7:15 p.m.
PhotoVoice pairs photographs and narratives to express the stigma, prejudice and discrimination personally experienced by those who live with mental illness. Organized by Mental Health America and created by its participants, this grassroots movement is both expressive and educational, granting a voice to those not typically heard in public discourse or debate
The 2013 inaugural PhotoVoice project, “Look at Me – Disregard the Labels” materializes these efforts with a series of elegant posters combining image and text. The display groups works by artists to emphasize the rich variety threading through each individual’s work. Photographs range from stark symbolism to whimsy, from the literal to the poetic, spanning the emotional a gamut between hope and isolation.
A crucial component of PhotoVoice is the communal support and discussion participants engaged in while finalizing these creations. Having worked closely with the artists, project coordinator Chris Buchanan describes the collection as “a creative gift designed to give the community an inside look and better understanding of what it’s like to live with mental illness while helping our participants move through their individual recovery process.”
PhotoVoice has enjoyed a wildly successful opening year and toured multiple venues, including AVC. The Art Gallery has the privilege of hosting the works for the first time in a gallery setting. We hope this new context will extend the discussion generated by these works to pose challenging questions about why art is created, who makes it, and how it functions as part of society.
For additional information about exhibits, please visit our information page.
Antelope Valley Arts 