An art fundraiser for both sides of the brain

By Kieran Delamont

Artistically, there are at least two ways to interpret the concept of the brain and mental health. The first is figurative, depicting the theme and idea of mental health through any of a vast array of metaphors; the second is the view the brain as an object in itself, a grey fleshy machine that, for every person, operates in a unique way. 

It makes a degree of sense, then, that at the “Brain and Mental Health Art Show,” an annual art exhibition held this past Friday night at Lansdowne Park and put on by Carleton University’s Society of Neuroscience, would prominently feature both examples this dualistic idea of the brain: many of the artists at the show are, in fact, neuroscience students who have a different, more technical, understanding of the human brain than most people. 

The art show, however, is in part about acknowledging that there is no one correct way to understand the brain. That there is no single, correct brain. 

Zach Dwyer, a coordinator with the Society for Neuroscience, says that the event is really about generating an understanding and acknowledgement that the realities of mental health are complicated, and that telling any one story — either a story about overcoming mental illness or struggling with it — is to leave out a significant portion of the story. “We try to focus on the positive aspects of mental health and the negatives,” says Dwyer. The brain, he says, is an extremely complicated piece of machinery, and there is still a lot to learn about it. He seems enamoured with this idea that the brain remains complicated and mystical; as we talk, he sprinkles our conversation with digressions into the current scientific and psychological research into the brain, pointing out the differences in the way scientists and psychologists approach what is, effectively, the same problem. 

The show, now in its seventh year, is at its core about bringing things together, in essence an extended riff on the left-brain/right-brain dichotomy. In an obvious way, it brings together different disciplines, with about half of the contributors being people who work in the art field while the other half are students, many of them in medical or scientific disciplines. 

That duality is one of the things that Dwyer says he enjoys most about the show — seeing how people who spend much of their time in logic-heavy fields can tap into their artistic sides. “We really like to get amateur submissions,” he says. “That’s probably our favourite.” 

The event has “grown exponentially” since it started in 2012, says Dwyer. Where as the first year had around 30 pieces of art, this year Dwyer said that there were 75 pieces. Last year, the show raised over $5,000 for Ancoura, a housing program for people living with mental illness, and this year — with a number of pieces selling at auction for north of $200 — Dwyer says they hope to exceed that. 

For participants, the show is as much an opportunity to fundraise for a good cause as it is an opportunity to open themselves up to the world and show how art has helped them survive with mental health issues. “Working with both sides of your brain, working with more horsepower, has really helped my recovery,” says painter Ryan Evans. Evans works with addiction services, and he says that art has helped him — and many other people battling addiction and mental health issues — with their recovery, and he was proud both to show his work and to talk with anybody about the impact it has had on his life. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” he tells me. 

Over the course of a couple hours, Dwyer says he expects upwards of 500 to 600 visitors — something that, judging by the atmosphere (closer to a lively cocktail party than a quiet gallery), seems like a pretty close estimate. 

For an art show that deals with incredibly difficult themes — addiction, trauma, and illness — there is a notably happy mood in the air. And that enthusiasm for the show and its success will carry almost immediately into planning for next year. As Alfonso Abizaid joked, the work never stops: the show wraps up on Friday night; planning for next year’s show begins on Saturday. 

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