California Story Fund
Crazy Quilts and Other Tales of Survival
ArtsChangeRichmond
Project Director: Ann Schnake
Using stories and art to humanize people with mental illnesses
This project will involve gathering stories from people from a variety of cultural backgrounds living with chronic mental illnessin West Contra Costa County.
The stories will be elicited through a series of workshops featuring expressive art therapy techniques, including visual art, writing and performance.
“The stories we gather will depict some of the daily struggles of people’s lives, but we will also explore how mental illness is conceived from culturally specific vantage points,” said Project Director Ann Schnake. “In the Mien community, for example, depression is often thought to be caused by evil spirits and treatment may involve visiting shamanic practitioners to dispel demons. Our team of humanities experts and mental health professionals will illuminate the metaphor of mental illness of the different cultural groups and describe places of acceptance and stigma as well as each group’s strengths and assets.”
The stories will be incorporated into photo-narratives and interpretive artwork created by professional artists and the participants themselves. The work will be exhibited at the Richmond Health Center in April 2007.
“Due to the stigma surrounding mental illness, these stories are not often told and are important because they give a human face to a common condition so often maligned and misunderstood in society,” said Schnake.