Winnipeg woman uses art as mental health care, showcases in exhibition

Meagan Brown is simply a Winnipeg creator who has ADHD.

While she makes a surviving retired of her art, she besides uses immoderate of her pieces arsenic a mode to process the stigmas attached to her neurodivergence. They are present displayed successful an accumulation with astatine Artbeat Studio connected Albert Street.

“There were definite times I would person a beauteous overmuch finished portion successful my manus and look astatine it and think, ‘Wow, I don’t person the aforesaid feelings astir immoderate of these things arsenic I did before,'” she said.

One of her pieces is simply a comic strip-style portion that shows a idiosyncratic hacking distant astatine a pillar of “negative self.”

“It’s truly astir taking these unbelievably beardown halfway beliefs of antagonistic aforesaid that person breached up, and doing the enactment to spot distant astatine this and crook each this self-hate and antagonistic self-image into self-love. Because each small spot you instrumentality disconnected of that antagonistic self-image becomes astatine slightest self-acceptance to statesman with, and yet self-love,” she said.

Another portion she did is called Shame Distorts the Self, wherever antagonistic self-image became antagonistic self-talk.

“I really realized I developed a tic implicit the past benignant of 3 oregon 4 years of audibly saying, ‘I hatred you’ to myself retired loud, which is simply a spot horrifying,” she said.

However, moving connected the portion presented her with a revelation.

“As I was moving connected this portion and finishing it, I realized that it is an intrusive thought that has present replaced a much dark, and destructive intrusive thought,” she said.

Executive manager of Winnipeg Art Therapists, Kayla Cardinal, says creation is an fantabulous mode to enactment done intelligence wellness issues.

“You would beryllium capable to announcement the profoundly buried interior conflicts that you mightiness not beryllium capable to verbalize, but alternatively you tin enactment done them, spot them, and past bash thing with them,” Cardinal said.

Among the perks is that you don’t person to beryllium a peculiar benignant of creator to partake.

“Painting, drawing, sculpting, it could beryllium acting, dance. It would besides beryllium ocular arts successful immoderate signifier oregon for… Any benignant of expressive mean to beryllium capable to instrumentality the interior to externalize it,” she said, adding, amended yet, you don’t adjacent request to beryllium an creator to reap the benefits.

“One of my favourite directives to bash is thing called an vigor sketch, wherever it’s rather virtually conscionable scribbling what’s going connected internally, putting it retired onto the page, utilizing colour, form, signifier and conscionable transferring that vigor retired onto the page.”

Speaking from idiosyncratic experience, Brown says that transportation of vigor is key.

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“The clip and the physicality of transferring feelings into thing physical… adjacent if it’s hurt… it is close arsenic colour,” she said.

Cardinal said successful a clip erstwhile it tin beryllium exceedingly hard to entree intelligence wellness services, creation therapy whitethorn beryllium a much flexible option, with the quality to root retired escaped programming and instrumentality enactment home.

“I wouldn’t needfully promote you to beryllium your ain creation therapist, particularly erstwhile there’s a batch of escaped creation therapy disposable for you, whether it’s locally oregon virtually — it’s there. And I anticipation that if anything, you scope retired conscionable for 1 session, conscionable to summation much accusation and say, ‘I’m looking for much accusation and wherever tin I find more?'”

Artbeat Studio wants to assistance marque therapeutic creation experiences accessible for all.

“We supply workplace spaces and connections for artists oregon radical with lived intelligence wellness acquisition to person that abstraction to truly benignant of heal,” said Uyen Pham, the Artbeat Studio’s enforcement director. “It’s a abstraction wherever we speech astir intelligence wellness freely and we promote each of our artists and our participants to bash that arsenic well.”

The non-profit hosts escaped sessions implicit the summer, works with organizations similar the Victoria Hospital Foundation, and has creation successful buildings passim Winnipeg.

By exhibiting her creation with the studio, Brown hopes others volition instrumentality notice.

“I deliberation breaking down the shame and the stigma is truly 1 of the champion things close now. Having conversations and getting much radical involved.”