FACE YOUR MIND

Join Gallery Gachet in our Mad Pride campaign to end the stigmatization of mental illness and help raise awareness around mental health

Mad Pride is a global, social change movement initiated by psychiatric survivors in England in the 1970s. Each year on July 14th,International Mad Pride Day is   recognized around the world as a day of celebration of our collective mental diversity.

In Vancouver, Mad Pride has been officially celebrated by Gallery Gachet for the past 4 years. As an artist-run centre operated by and for those who speak to experience with mental illness, Gachet has played an essential role in cultivating and contributing to dialogue around all matters ‘mental health’. We continue to engage with our local communities on the intersection between mental health and the arts both within and beyond our home in the Downtown Eastside. We struggle and survive despite deep provincial funding cuts to both the arts and mental health sectors this year, and we are calling upon our communities for financial support and to participate in our campaign to raise awareness of mental health issues.

This summer, Gallery Gachet proudly presents Facing Your Mind: we are calling out to all consumers, supporters and allies to help us build a wall of portraits signifying your support for the destigmatization of mental illness. You can participate simply by sending us your photobooth or head shot image and we will place your portrait within our gallery wall display. By doing so, you are visibly demonstrating your support for a global movement which recognizes that matters of mental health affect each and every one of us. With your permission we will add you to our Flickr photo group and potentially project your image  within a collection around Vancouver. You don’t have to have a “mental health issue” or illness to be supporter.

Donating to our Facing Your Mind campaign will enable us to support the work of artists who identify with mental health issues and who are participating in our Mad Pride exhibition. Your dollar will go directly into the pockets of those struggling with mental illness and in support of our gallery, as we face the challenge of surviving through an increasingly impoverished arts and mental health funding climate.  Our presence within these communities is crucial and we cannot continue to produce our exhibitions and programming initiatives without your help. Please give what you can afford, even if it’s just a photo.

How to help

Photos can be e-mailed to programming@gachet.org, along with an e-mail giving us your permission to use your image in our Facing Your Mind campaign.

Donations can be made through Pay Pal via credit card, through our website, www.gachet.org, or by check or cash at our location at 88 East Cordova Street. Please call 604 687 2468 and let us know you wish to donate to our “Facing Your Mind Campaign”.

We thank you for your support and contributions.

In July, our month of Mad Pride related programming includes the Mad Pride art exhibition, an interdisciplinary cabaret, comedy nights and workshops. Please check out www.gachet.org for our full programming line up.