Collaboration brings attention to mental health through art

No 600's Gallery is China's first art space housed in a mental health institution.

Set in a corridor of the Shanghai Mental Health Center, the gallery has held 15 exhibitions, showcasing more than 1,000 artworks since opening in 2019.

Aimed at "building a bridge between the diagnoses of mental diseases and the vibrant individuals", the gallery has played an important role in breaking the stereotypical perceptions of mental health institutions, bringing warmth and a human touch to the field of mental health, says Niu Xiaona, an art therapist and spokesperson for the center.

The latest exhibition, a collaboration with renowned Italian notebook brand Moleskine, brings the caregivers of mental patients into the limelight.

"Very often we give our full attention to the patients, as they are the most important, but the caregivers shoulder heavy responsibilities," said Ni Xiaodong of the health center at the opening of the exhibition on Jan 23.

Many caregivers, including parents, spouses, and other family members, also face a "severe burden of care", according to experts. This burden extends beyond financial pressure into long-term mental exhaustion.

Zhang Qinwen, curator of the exhibition, says, "These caregivers are ordinary people who have to balance their own emotions while bearing the weight of caring for others.

"We have witnessed family members torn between their career and domestic duties, and all of them endure the unspoken prejudice against mental illness," Zhang says.

"Just like the patients, the caregivers deserve to be seen and protected. We hope this exhibition creates a safe space for them. When they accompany their partners and family members to see the doctor, they will find artworks that speak to their experience, and help them see they are not alone."

The paintings, photographs, collages, and handwritten journals have been created by more than 40 patients with the help of the curatorial team, caregivers and artists who have long collaborated with Moleskine.

Among the exhibits are patients' works about their family, friends and pets. Also featured is a painting by a medical worker who has struggled with depression for 17 years, as well as a journal of a patient with a 25-year history of schizophrenia, which records how she found happiness and meaning through creating cloth collages with her mother and volunteer groups.

A 70-year-old woman, identified as Linda (an alias), contributed her story of caring for her 90-year-old mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer, and other complications.

Her mother, formerly a doctor, lost a child in the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake in Hebei province. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016, she gradually lost most of her memory.

Linda describes taking her mother to doctor appointments, managing her medicines, and caring for her, similar to caring for a baby. In a letter, she writes about her love and dedication: "Your daughter needs your company too, mother. You are what home means to me."

"We have had some patients with verbalization difficulties," Ni says. "They may struggle to express themselves in face-to-face conversations.

"But their thoughts flow more freely by writing and their expression becomes more fluent. In fact, writing itself can be a form of therapy," he says.

"Science is proving that writing, drawing, painting, doodling, or whatever, is a way for you to reconnect with yourself," says Christophe Archaimbault, CEO of Moleskine.

"Today, we live at a much faster pace than ever. The speed of the phone is changing every five years, but the speed of writing is the same," he told China Daily. "Writing is the way to cool down and recover your organic pace, because the speed of writing hasn't changed."

The collaboration with No 600's Gallery is vital, he says, "Because our mission is to help people to live a better life, and writing is really essential to that."

zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn