Mental Illness: Help Disabled Artists Awakenings Project

Please help, we so need your support for our vital work! The amazing Awakenings Project (AP) is seeking funds to continue its ground-breaking endeavors to improve the lives of artists, writers, and poets who have been disabled by the lived experience of mental illness.

In the course of one year, AP will operate a working art studio in Elgin, Illinois, on the "drop-in" model where individuals can create art, gain fellowship, and prepare for one or several art exhibits and shows that AP carries on throughout the year. AP will supply free space, informal instruction, and free art supplies! This activity serves to empower these artists so that AP becomes an organization that they identify with and highly value.

AP will undertake four or five exhibits during the year at various venues. Recently, these have included public libraries, churches, and outdoor art fairs. At these events, Awakenings artists are empowered by seeing their work professionally displayed for both the enjoyment and intellectual benefit of the public and as a remedy for the stigma surrounding mental illness. $50 will keep the studio open for one day!