“Turbulence Behind Tranquility is a traveling art exhibit that seeks to raise awareness, foster open conversation and destigmatize the topic of mental health in our communities.
1 out of 5 Americans live with a mental health condition. The NY Times reported in 2016 that suicide rates were a 30 year high. (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html?_r=0) Everyone is effected by mental health issues, whether it is yourself, or someone in your family, or a friend; whether it is now, or in the past, or in your future; whether you have shared it with a friend or counselor, or keep it silent and locked in your heart; whether you yourself have been suicidal, have a friend who’s attempted, or a friend who succeeded. In this city we see a population of homeless individuals many of whom have mental health struggles that keep them from a life of stability. It is a vast spectrum of experiences that makes up this category of “mental health.” Topics that we too often see only in caricature.
Healing is to be found, in looking at what others look away from. “Turbulence Behind Tranquility” gives us this opportunity.
In curating this exhibit we have sought to give voice to has been silenced… Let yourself be surprised at what you see. These are unexpected perspectives, unheard voices. And when you see the pictures that hold pain, my challenge for you is to look, rather than look away. Be a part of the community that holds people in rather than pushing them out in the midst of hard time. There is truth in hard places. There is beauty in brokenness.