Demystifying mental health through art is the challenge that Louise Tremblay has set herself as part of an exhibition organized by l’Envolée and presented from April 30 to May 8.
The project started more than a year ago for the one who says she works at “footstepssions ». Initially, Louise Tremblay wanted organize a fundraiser for the organization working in mental health in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, where she is also a worker. She then presented some sketches inspired by her own mental health issues to Nancy Ponton, director of l’Envolée. She has the idea of repeating the process, but with members of the organization.
Collaborative works
This led Louise Tremblay to meet eight members with whom she exchanges about their mental health issues and their personal lives.
These dialogues allowed to build several collaborative works. In particular, the artist asked the members to choose, among the images she showed them, some to put aside to reuse them later. All this amalgamation of perceptions, feelings and instincts has made it possible to create canvases that highlight in pictures the words of the participants.
In total, nearly forty paintings will be exhibited from April 30 to May 8 at the Villa des Arts Liliane Bruneau.
Artistic performances, testimonials and a musical atmosphere will also be there to ensure continuous pleasure throughout the week.
WHEN: From Saturday April 30 to Sunday May 8, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: At the Villa des Arts Liliane Bruneau, 27 rue Saint-Louis, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
Make it something beautiful
Louise Tremblay still shows a great deal of reluctance and ignorance with regard to mental health problems. It is still difficult, she says, to conceive that depression, for example, is part of it. It is still taboo in many workplaces. The artist observes a lot of pain and a constant struggle in people struggling with such problems, of which the majority are not aware.
“Art is also a way of making something beautiful out of it. It’s not just heavy or ugly, it can be very beautiful too”, adds Louise Tremblay. The artistic process was also liberating both for the artist and for the members who participated in it. “Some had never named what they were going through, and doing so made them realize that it’s not that bad. For others, it also allowed them to make peace with part of their past.cites Louise Tremblay as an example.
This is also the first time that the one who has lived in the Laurentians for 21 years has proposed a project with a social vocation. This is the first time that one of his exhibitions will “seeking the emotional” public.
The paintings presented are also very varied in terms of techniques; the artist sometimes uses penciling, watercolor or even collage to do justice to the testimonies and the vision gathered from the participants.
About L’Envolée RASM
L’Envolée RASM is an alternative mental health resource offering a warm welcoming place where it is possible to be yourself, to be accompanied by people who have gone through the same challenges and the same fears, to flourish individually, but also to evolve as a group.
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