DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL RETARDATION

MONTGOMERY, AL -- Through the years, striking links between mental illness and creativity have been noted by patrons of the arts. Michaelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, and many others struggled with mental illness throughout their pursuit of profound and universal enlightenment through various media. To highlight the connection between great art, heightened sensory perception, creative genius, and mental illness, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts will join the mental health advocates in hosting a display featuring selected works from the Visionary Guild for Mentally Ill Artists and vsa arts Alabama. The event, including a panel discussion will be held October 1, 2000, from 2 to 4 PM, at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, One Museum Drive, in the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park.

The event was conceived by a community education and advisory committee to the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation and set in motion by local museum patrons and members of NAMI Montgomery, a family advocacy group that encourages education, research, and treatment for mental illness.

"We are very encouraged by the Museum’s enthusiasm in working with us to highlight the amazing depth of talent among the membership of Alabama’s Visionary Guild for Mentally Ill Artists and vsa arts Alabama," said Kathy Sawyer, Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. "We also deeply appreciate the other supporters – NAMI Montgomery, the Mental Health Consumers of Alabama, the Mental Health Association in Montgomery, and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts – for helping organize and implement this effort," Sawyer said. Sawyer also recognized Dr. Laurie Weil and others for originally approaching Museum leadership with the idea.

The program, "Voice and Vision: The Healing Power of Art," will feature artists making art, as well as displaying art. Guest panelists, including a local psychiatrist, mental health consumers and family members and an art historian, will discuss the many mentally ill artists who have enriched society throughout history, and respond to guests’ questions. For further information, call the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation at (334) 242-3417.