BENGALURU: Art heals, and on November 19, art will be used as a tool to create dialogue on mental health. Poets and artists will be coming together to speak and express on various facets of mental well-being.The event titled Art Fort Heart is a curated initiative of Kalava, an organisation that aims to employ art as a means of expression and healing.
Deconstruct mental health
From performance poetry, art exhibition, live art and live music, the four-hour workshop will deconstruct the myths of mental health. “It’s the first time that an artistic experience is being used to speak solely about mental health,” says Manvi Shah, founder of Kalava.
“This event is important to start a larger conversation on one of the most common and yet a taboo subject,” she adds.
The coming together of various artists, as well as those who have suffered mentally, will also render a sense of belonging and togetherness, believes the organisers.
The event will explore four main mental health concerns. Namely ‘The Dictionary does not define’ on the topic of what illness and wellness is. ‘Say it loud, say it proud’ a theme to break the silence on the topic. ‘Heal me baby, one more time’ to talk about medication and therapy and ‘Who cares? We care’ on seeking and receiving help.
Going larger
Launched in November 2016 in the city, Kalava is gearing to start a pan-India dialogue on mental health. This event will be followed by three more to raise awareness on the subject. The organisation is also opening its branch in Manipal and Mumbai.
“We used to conduct workshops regularly in Bengaluru and now we have zeroed down on doing a larger two-day mental health and art summit during September ‘18,” says Manvi. “As a prelude to it, we have four smaller events lined up and each will be understood with different forms of art,” she adds.
Artists on the day
Artists will be coming from Mumbai and Chennai as well to exhibit their art. Few among them are Mallika Vadhera, Ankit Vichare, Samresh Srivastava, Saloni Sinha, Malathi Jogi and Neethi Goldhawk. Among the spoken word artists, Shamir Reuben, head of content at Kommune will be sharing his personal tryst with mental health and how spoken word liberated him by creating a dialogue. Mariyam Saigal, Angshuman Sharma, Cipun Mishra, Sasha Ranganath, Mitali Bhasin and Aarcha RS are other prominent members of city’s word community who will perform at the event.
The event will be held on November 19, 4.30 pm at 91springboard, MG road.