The special exhibit titled “PhotoVoice: Untold Minds” has been on display at the UNM Zimmerman Library since the end of March, and will be holding a special event on Thursday, where individuals will be given the opportunity to meet PhotoVoice artists and mentors in the library from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Michele Herling, executive director for Compassionate Touch Network, said the Mental Health Resource Center Fair will take place on the same day and will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UNM SUB.
A number of resources at UNM are in collaboration with the Compassionate Touch Network for this event. Among them is NAMI UNM, an on-campus affiliate of National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the Agora Crisis Center, Herling said.
“The board president of CTN and myself were talking about wanting a PhotoVoice exhibit which focuses in on giving voice to individuals, to the individual and collective experiences of individuals living with mental illness,” Herling said.
The Mental Health Resource Fair taking place at the SUB will have members of NAMI UNM, the Agora crisis line and the Compassionate Touch Network available to talk with people about mental health, she said.
The Meet PhotoVoice artists and mentors event at Zimmerman will showcase 18 exhibit pieces. Anyone can come, meet and talk to the artist who took the photographs and wrote the stories that go with them as well as the mentors who worked with these artists, Herling said.
“These artists do not necessarily know about photography; they all have mental illness, they all have a diagnosis. We have created a mentorship program to work with individuals who are interested in photography who might not even know how to use a camera,” she said. “We have chosen mentors that either use photography as a hobby or are professional photographers to work with folks who have mental illness to take images they want to take.”
There are times when over 100 images are taken, and they must be culled down to one image before writing the backstory about the image and what it says about mental illness, Herling said.
“Many mental illnesses can get started in the college years,” she said. “But people do not talk about them because of the stigma that goes along with these illnesses.
Those involved in the exhibit hope it will help individuals experiencing mental health challenges to not feel alone in the world and not feel shame about the fact that they have an illness, she said.
“Everything we do in Compassionate Touch Network is focus in on breaking through that stigma, because research shows the stigma around mental illness keeps people from seeking the help that they need,” Herling said.
A little less than 40 percent of people with a mental illness seek treatment, she said, because of the shame and isolation that goes along with these illnesses.
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The notion that an individual should just “get over it” exists because people really don’t understand that mental illness is a biological illness, Herling said.
“It’s an illness that affects the brain and the biochemical nature of what’s going on in the brain, but most people don’t recognize that and think it’s just simply a thing that you can get over,” she said.
This is the first retrospective of PhotoVoice, where 18 total pieces from recent years will be shown.
The pieces are on 12 by 12 inch tiles, with the photos and the text professionally mounted on aluminum.
“We would love to come back every year. I’ve already gotten feedback from people we’ve been working with at the library that people have been coming up to them and talking with them about the exhibit,” she said.
Herling looks forward to hopefully having conversations with people about the process of PhotoVoice, as well as speaking to those who may be interested in becoming mentors.
Herling said she hopes that the exhibit spurs interest in participation among attendees.
“All of us want people to know you are not alone and that there is help out there. We want to either start or continue the conversation with people so that people will be able to move forward in their lives in a healthier way,” Herling said.
Nichole Harwood is a reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Nolidoli1.
