By Frank Bublitz
My last article ended with a promise to share with you information about how the arts can reduce stigma against people who have mental illnesses. Stigma is a word from the Greek language that means a mark against something or someone.
One such project was called the Creative Minds Changing Minds Traveling Art Show. The show was created using art that was juried by local artists in whatever county mental health department in Michigan wanted to participate.
Why are arts a way to reduce stigma about mental illness? Because there is much beauty in drawings, paintings, and other works of art. And mental illness can cause people to behave in some ugly ways. And people who don’t have contact with others who admit to having a mental illness often believe all people with mental illness are ugly. That we have nothing of value to contribute to society.
These art shows, where quality pieces traveled from one end of the state to the other, were intended to bring the community into contact with beauty created by people who may not be seen as able to create beauty.
This was not a publicity exercise or something the mental health system came up with on its own. Rather, the idea was based on rigorous scientific studies carried out over many years at the University of Chicago. Over many years various ways to improve the attitudes of Americans about minorities were tested for their effectiveness.
Contact with and education about people who people were ignorant of and often afraid of were shown to be the best strategies to improve people’s perceptions. So, not only were the shows displayed at galleries or other arts event sites the public was invited to meet the artists while viewing the shows.
I would love to say that the shows were scientifically evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing stigma. While the St. Clair County CMH Players acting troupe DID such studies the CMHAM agency did not do them for the art shows. So I cannot state with certainty that these shows had any effect upon the general public.
However, the shows and the classes that taught the artists beforehand DID have a very positive effect upon “Internal” stigma. That is the feelings of shame, hopelessness, and guilt that people with mental illness carry inside themselves. In Lapeer County, where I worked for thirteen years coordinating an arts program, artists rated the creative arts education as the most important program offered by CMH to help them recover!
So I cannot say the program was a success in changing the minds of those who do not have a mental illness. But I can say that the other effort that I will be writing about in my next article, the CMH Players, had success in changing the minds of young people who viewed the plays that we performed.
Some of you reading this article may have participated as an artist or a patron. If you have, and you would like to contribute information to a future article about either the Traveling Art Show or CMH Players, please contact me. My email address is bublitzf4@gmail.com
