The Chicago Herald wrote a feature on
The Awakenings Project, a donor-supported, peer-run coalition for artists with mental illness. Here's a snippet:
"Some people see mental illness as a burden, as a limitation," said Virginia Goldrick, a group facilitator at Elgin's Ecker Center for Mental Health. "But it can also open your eyes to many things - not just to human suffering, but also to the depth of the human spirit."
Some experts believe psychiatric illness also stokes creativity. In her 1993 book, "Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament," Dr. Kay Jamison builds the case that mental illness often goes hand-in-hand with artistic ability - citing Lord Byron, Robert Schumann, Vincent van Gogh and others as examples of authors, composers and artists who suffered from psychiatric disorders.
Robert Lundin, a Glen Ellyn social worker affected with a form of schizophrenia, was intrigued by Jamison's research and conclusions 12 years ago while helping to plan the Illinois state convention for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
"I thought, 'Well, if it is true that people with mental illness have this positive quality,'" Lundin said, "'if we host an art show we ought to be able to draw some of these people.'"
When the call for entries went out, submissions were received from 40 artists, each struggling with some kind of psychiatric disorder. Lundin used his own money to fund the inaugural exhibit at the state convention that year.
"It was just a smash hit," Lundin said. "The whole place was abuzz. This was something that was really new and cutting edge. Here we were in Lisle, Illinois, doing this fantastic art show."
That convention in 1996 was the birthplace of what would become known as The Awakenings Project. Invitations from art galleries followed, giving established artists as well as newcomers an outlet for healing and creativity - and, for some, a client base of customers and commissions.