Art's power to heal and help us express ourselves is being celebrated in Parkside Art Gallery's new show Pieces of Me: Healing Through Artistic Expression.
This show consists of the works of close to 50 artists and clients of the Canadian Mental Health Association South Cariboo Branch. This show marks the first time the CMHA has organized and curated a show at Parkside. Kristin Buxton, the South Cariboo CMHA's community engagement coordinator, said she is incredibly excited to have helped put the show together.
"The idea came about because our (clubhouse) clients have always been busy doing all kinds of art projects, and it was starting to pile up. We only have so much room in our clubhouse, so I was like 'we should have an art show'," Buxton explained.
Buxton said a former employee of CMHA is South Cariboo artist and Parkside volunteer Melanie Eva, who helped her curate the show. When she first considered organising a show last year, Buxton reached out to Eva, who helped her apply for their spot.
In late 2024, Buxton was thrilled to learn not only had her application been accepted, but she was also able to secure the coveted April to May time slot she'd requested. Buxton said she wanted to run the show in the spring because it will tie into Mental Health Week from May 4-10.
A large portion of the art comes from CMHA clients, primarily members of the CMHA's Clubhouse program, which gives people with mental disabilities a place to socialize and belong. The CMHA does weekly activities with these clients and, oftentimes, Buxton said, they are arts or crafts.
"Art is very therapeutic and healing because it is a time to express yourself and just be completely creative. (You) forget about the stresses of the outside world and just focus on the art piece you're making," Buxton remarked.
The clients' art ranges from painted rocks to tie-dye shirts to painted bottles and abstract paintings. Buxton remarked that each piece is being kept anonymous to respect their clients' privacy.
"We have at least 15 to 20 clients who have different pieces on sale here," Buxton added.
Augmenting her clients' art is a wide selection of paintings, photographs, pottery and mixed media pieces donated by 30 South Cariboo artists. Buxton said she reached out to members of the arts community and received a huge outpouring of support in return.
Buxton said that across the various pieces submitted to the show, there is a central theme of the artists exploring their own mental health struggles through their art. For her, one of the most inspiring parts of putting the show together has been listening to artists share their own stories with her whenever they come by to drop their art off.
"We're really just hoping to break down the stigma because the more people come forward and talk about their stories and share it with the community, the more we're going to make mental health a normal topic of daily conversation," Buxton remarked. "You don't have to be ashamed if you're struggling with your mental health because there is a whole gallery full of people who have gone through similar stories as yourself."
Buxton said that all of her clients' art and most of the art from other artists is for sale. All proceeds from this show will go towards purchasing a new van for the CMHA Clubhouse program. Buxton noted that they use this van to drive their clients to excursions outside of 100 Mile House, but their current van is no longer suitable.
"Our van is essential to pretty much everything we do at CMHA because we use it to take clients into town, to bring them to outings and recreational activities. It helps with food bank deliveries. It is really essential to daily life at CMHA and it is definitely on its way out. At this point, it's just costing us way more in repairs than what the van is actually worth," Buxton explained. "This year is going to be a big year for fundraising to try and get a new to us van or maybe a new van."
While the show officially opened on Friday, April 18, Buxton said they plan to hold an official opening on Friday, April 25, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Buxton said several artists and CMHA clients will be there along with 100 Miles to Mumbai and Chilcotin Chills food trucks.
"Even if you don't want to donate monetarily, just come see the amazing pieces of art in here. You can spend all day just looking at different pieces of art," Buxton remarked. "There's maybe 150, 160, pieces altogether in (the show)."
Pieces of Me: Healing Through Artistic Expression runs until May 19, 2025.
