Behind The MASK - National Empowerment Center

Behind the M ASK
Using the Arts to
Challenge Stigma
Alternatives 2010
P rom oting W ellness
Through Social Justice
Sept. 29 – Oct. 3
Anaheim, California
The MASK

A mask is an article normally worn on
the face, typically for protection,
concealment, performance or
amusement. Masks have been used
since antiquity for both ceremonial and
practical purposes.
MASKS
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The word "mask" came via French
masque and similar words in Italian
and Spanish. Possible ancestors are
the Latin words for "ghost," and Arabic
words meaning a "jester," or one who
is mocked or ridiculed, but also one
who is transform ed .
MASKS

In ancient Rome, the word for a mask
was persona, from which our word
“personality” has evolved …
STIGMA

A mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain
or reproach, as on one's reputation.
STIGMA

An attribute, behavior, or reputation
which is socially discrediting in a
particular way: it causes an individual
to be mentally classified by others in
an undesirable, rejected stereotype
rather than in an accepted, “normal”
one.
SELF STIGMA
Self-stigma is defined as negative
attitudes about mental illness and its
treatment that are held by the
individual with the
stigmatized condition.
SELF STIGMA
Self-stigma has recently been cited as a
major public health concern,
contributing to decreased
treatment seeking,
lowered self-esteem,
and lowered
self-efficacy.
SELF STIGMA
Self-stigma is the prejudice which
people with mental illness turn against
themselves.
OVERCOMING SELF STIGMA
I come before you today simply as a
person and as a fellow human being.
I wear this mask as a symbol of how I
have sometimes seen myself and how
I suspect I may be seen by others,
including you.
OVERCOMING SELF STIGMA
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Sometimes a mask can be a thing of
beauty, a work of art, and a vehicle of
culture.
Other times, a mask can conceal
difficult truths or allow for hurtful
falsehoods. It can be both shield and
weapon.
OVERCOMING SELF STIGMA
We all have our masks, which we can
wear on the inside or out. Today, I
have decided to show you my mask as
well as myself, in the hope
that we can all learn
to look beyond our masks to
see the complex and beautiful
humanity behind our illusions.
Behind theM ASK
Using the Arts to
Challenge Stigma
Richard O. Krzyżanowski
Chairman, Orange County Stigma-Elimination Task Force
Consumer Employment Support Specialist, OCHCA
Alternatives 2010
P rom oting W ellness
Through Social Justice
Sept. 29 – Oct. 3
Anaheim, California
Our “artful” introduction
Could have been a dry recitation of facts
about stigma & self stigma, but
wasn’t, because we used:
 Images
 A little history
 Artistic and cultural references
 Drama
Our “artful” introduction
All elements that enhanced ,
rather than distracted, from
the message we want to
convey
Just a simple example of how
artistic elements can be used to
support a message
Moving beyond the
“artful” to:
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Use the ARTS
Create ART
Showcase that ART
Tell the ARTISTS’ story
Why ART?

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Art is deeply human and universal to
all cultures and all classes
It provides a rich vocabulary, a
language, by which we can assess,
evaluate, criticize, imagine, reveal and
otherwise express the totality of the
human experience, from the broadly
social to the deeply personal
Why ART?
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Art is accessible to most people, both
to create and to interpret
There are so many artistic media and
avenues for expression. Using them
singly or in combination allows for
great creativity and the possibility of
reaching diverse audiences
How can art fight stigma?
Beyond offering a therapeutic process to
the creators of art:

Allowing a mental health “client” or
“consumer-survivor” to become an
“ARTIST” is transformative both
internally and socially
How can art fight stigma?

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Socially, the artist is in a position to
reinvent him or herself through his or her
work.
The status and perceptions of society
towards a creative being is vastly different
from that accorded to a person based on a
focus on disability, illness or need (stigma,
discrimination, pity, etc.).
How can art fight stigma?
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Internally, the artist not only can feel
a certain liberation through the
creative process, but;
Seeing how society re-evaluates a
person based on their work, can trade
in stigma for a sense of pride and
accomplishment.
Two recent studies:


Corrigan, P.W. (2005). On the stigm a
of m ental illness: P ractical strategies
for research and social change .
Washington, D.C.: APA.
Pescosolido, B.A., Jensen, P.S., Martin,
J.K., Perry, B.L., Olafsdottir, S., &
Fettes, D. (2008). Public knowledge
and assessment of child mental health
problems: Findings from the National
Stigma Study—Children. Journal of the
Am erican Academ y of Child &
Adolescent P sychiatry , 47, 339–349.
Two recent studies
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"If you focus on the competence of
people with mental illness, that tends
to lead to greater tolerance.”
--- Pescosolido
Contact with people who have mental
illness tends to decrease stigma
Meeting people who have mental
illness weakens people's tendency to
link mental illness and violence.
The Orange County
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
The Orange County
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
July 11- August 23, 2009
A COLLABORATI VE effort:
 OC Mental Health Board Arts Committee
 OC Stigma-Elimination Task Force
 OC Multi-Cultural Arts Guild
 Cal State Fullerton’s Grand
Central Art Center

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OC Health Care Agency
StopGap Theater Company
The Orange County
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
Collaboration:
 Absolutely necessary in these times of
scarce resources
 At times difficult because of differing
artistic visions & institutional cultures
 Enriching, because it forces
participants to “stretch” and learn
from each other
“Mainstreaming:” Beyond
the “usual suspects”
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Although we involved the mental
health communities (clients, family
members, mh professionals), both as
artists and audience,
We used art as the bridge to introduce
ourselves and our work to art lovers
and the general public.
THAT is where the real “stigmabusting” happened!
Some elements of the
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival

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Three galleries of visual arts by
consumer/family-member artists
A juried art show
Film series
Workshops on visual arts, dance &
movement therapy, writing, etc.
An original play, “Third Tree on the
Left,” written and performed by
consumers/family-members
ERASE STI GM A EXHIBITS
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R .CR UM B’S UNDER GR OUND
MAIN GALLERY - Drawings of Artist Robert Crumb
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RENTAL & SALES GALLERY - Mental Health Community
Artists Artwork
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE STUDIO – “The Stigma Room,”
A Collaborative Erase Stigma Installation with the MH
Community
I NSI DE-OUT , PROJECT ROOM GALLERY
Artists exhibiting have reached INSIDE their lives and
struggles to bring OUT their very different stories
(Includes video interviews with members of the OC
Mental Health Community)
Some Workshop Titles
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Matting Art Works to prepare for
Festival
Expressive Movement
Poetry/Spoken Word
You are an Original Artist!
Paint Like the Old Masters
Harry Potter, Not Just Another Angry
Teen Wizard
More Workshop Topics
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Tools for Effective Visual Arts
Submissions for Juried, Group, & One
person exhibits
Writing Seminar and Workshop
How to Get Published
Visual Artists Who Deal with MH
Issues in their Work
Mental Illness, Creativity and Stigma
Dance Movement Therapy
Film & Discussion Series
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“Canvas”
“Shine”
“The Hours”
“Basquiat”
“Bolinao 52”
“As Good As It Gets”
“Benny & Joon”
Some elements of the
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
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Two public openings, one for the
“Mental Health Community,” and one
for the community at large
Musical performances and poetry
readings
The “Stigma Room”
Filmed interviews with
artists/performers
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
The “Stigm a Room ”
The “Stigm a Room ”
The “Stigm a Room ”
The “Stigm a Room ”
The “Stigm a Room ”
The “Stigm a Room ”
The “Stigm a Room ”
The “Stigm a Room ”
Erase Stigm a Arts Festival
Contact information
RICHARD O. KRZYŻANOWSKI
CONSUM ER-EM PLOYM ENT
SUPPORT SPECI ALI ST
ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH CARE AGENCY
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES
600 W. SANTA ANA BLVD., SUITE 510
SANTA ANA, CA 92701
(714) 667-5607
FAX # (714) 667-5612
E-mail: [email protected]