During my typical daily searches for mental health news yesterday, I stumbled across something that I knew I absolutely had to share with you. And yes, I do feel that way about every potential blog topic I discover, but the one that we’re about to discover together hit me in a way that felt deeply personal.
It’s called The Perspective Project, and it provides a therapeutic outlet for those affected by mental health conditions. And when you combine mental health issues with introspection and an artistic outlet, there can be some pretty incredible results. (Quick disclaimer: None of the graphics included in this article came from The Perspective Project.)
They started in the UK in 2017 and they’ve shared the works of hundreds of artists, poets, and writers from all over the world. Each piece published by the organization is a submission from the general public and represents a very unique view of what it’s like for the artist to deal with his or her personal issues each day. If you follow our posts, we’ve said it more than once: trauma varies from person-to-person. Well, the exact same can be said for the “everyday” of mental illness: experience varies from person-to-person.
Now, when you hear the word “art” in terms of a therapeutic outlet, your brain may very well default to paintings or drawings created with oils or charcoal on canvas or paper, but this is just the tip of the iceberg with The Perspective Project. When you submit your work to them, it can be in the form of poetry, prose, photography, video, or the art we just mentioned. It’s “art” in the very broadest definition of the word, which is excellent because with regard to mental health, all-inclusive is an absolute requirement. And one of the best things about the online exhibition on the official website is that it includes a disclaimer up front:
"THE WORKS ON THIS SITE CONTAIN HONEST AND POWERFUL ACCOUNTS OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND EVENTS. IF YOU HAVE BEEN TRIGGERED BY CONTENT OF THIS NATURE IN THE PAST, PLEASE BROWSE WITH CARE."
The website itself is a work of art in its simplicity and utility and the people behind its design have done absolute justice to the art contained within by incorporating minimalism and user-friendliness (ease of use). You can browse through the available categories and see all of the works that the public has submitted to the project, or you can use the included search bar to look for submissions that are intended to depict specific things, such as “PTSD”, or “bipolar disorder”. On the landing page of each category, each entry is laid out in a tile format. Clicking on the title of each entry, you can view the respective artist’s description of their work and discover any avenues to view more of their works.
We could continue our deep dive into this amazing project, but so much can get lost in translation. Instead, we encourage you to go check out The Perspective Project for yourself.
The Perspective Project can be found at:
- Perspective Project | Mental Health Art | United Kingdom (Official Website)
- Perspective Project (@perspectiveartproject) • Instagram photos and videos
- Perspective Project (Facebook)
- Perspective Project (LinkedIn)