Artists with lived experience shed light on the complexities of mental health at the 2023 mindshare Exhibition.
Image: Artist Jo Shepherd smiles below her two pieces named 'Colours of my world'.
The mindshare Group Exhibition is an annual collaboration between the Mental Health Coalition of South Australia, Life Without Barriers Living Arts program, NEAMI National’s Arts program, and the City of Adelaide. This exhibition showcases the work of creatives with lived experience across the Adelaide City Library and the North Adelaide Community Centre as part of Mental Health Month.
This year, Living Arts presented the largest body of work to date, with more than 20 people contributing to solo and collaborative artworks with participants from Life Without Barriers Mental Health, Disability, and Child, Youth and Family programs, as well as pieces supported by Isy Ashford, Arts Therapist, from The Art To Wellbeing.
Radi, a watercolour artist from the Living Arts program featured in the exhibition, shared their reflection on their mental health journey, and how it has informed their art.
“I am constantly waiting for that freedom and that final relief that you can get your life together. But it isn’t as easy as that,” said Radi.
“You can have your life together and still have mental health challenges. As an artist, I wish to inspire those who are kind of in that deep mental health hole.”
Image: Artist Radi poses in Cosplay in front of their many artworks.
On Friday, 6 October, the Exhibition was officially launched with a special gathering at the North Adelaide Community Centre MC’d by Phi Theodoros, our Lead Resident Artist.
After a wonderful Welcome to Country by Tameeka, a proud Aboriginal woman with connections to Raukkan and Point Pierce, musicians from Skylight Mental Health’s music programs entertained the crowd, followed by the mindshare Creative Writing Awards presented by the Mental Health Coalition and Access to Arts.
Image: Resident Artist Phi Theodoros stands in front of the stage, speaking to the audience.
After the formalities, attendees were invited to meet, mingle, and share stories of how creativity has supported them. They were also invited to decorate a lantern for a collaborative artwork inspired by the South Australian Mental Health Month theme ‘Have the Conversation’.
This piece reflects upon the steps we can all take to support someone who is going through a challenging time and includes tips from attendees about how they would support someone and how they would like to receive support. The lanterns with these messages help light the path toward recovery in this beautiful artwork designed by Living Arts Social Work Student Eliza Clark.
Image: mindshare artists Radi and Crystal decorating lanterns for the collaborative canvas.
“Every year, I am blown away by the works we hang for this exhibition,” said Phi. “But this year, I am especially proud of the diversity of both the work presented and the Lived Experiences of the artists who have contributed.”
“The Launch was an incredibly heartwarming event with people across the mental health and community sector coming together to celebrate the creativity and stories of the people we work with."
“We spend months preparing for mindshare, but it is all worth it when you see the look on our artists' faces when they see their work displayed.”
“Working on this exhibition is a huge privilege and a highlight for many in the Mental Health Month calendar.” Shared Phi.
Image: Two attendees view 'Ramblings of the mind' by Radi.
Living Arts would like to thank the staff, participants, and management across Life Without Barriers’ Child, Youth and Families, Disability and Mental Health teams and acknowledge the Social Work Students Jessica Savva, Eliza Clark, Clement Lee, Amy Siedel, Shikha Pathak and Winnie Wu for their support during the mindshare Open Studio sessions, the installation and launch of this exhibition. A big thank you also to Gogo Events, who helped coordinate the exhibition and launch event on behalf of the Mental Health Coalition this year.
Image: Living Arts Photography Club display.
The annual mindshare Exhibition is on display until the end of October in Adelaide City Library, Francis Street, North Adelaide Library and Community Centre, Tynte Street, as well as online at mindshare.org.au.
