A new art exhibit opening April 1st at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center focuses on the faces of people living with mental illness.
The exhibit, called The 99 Faces Project, features life-size portraits of 33 people living with bipolar disorder, 33 people living with schizophrenia, and 33 people who love and support them.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock arts program director Marianne Barthel says the artist Lynda Michaud Cutrell wanted to challenge assumptions about what mental illness looks like.
“It was really in an effort to de-stigmatize mental health and help give inspiration to those living with mental illness that there are others out there like them who are living successful lives with jobs and families.”
She hopes the exhibit will jumpstart a conversation in the community about mental health.
“It really breaks down barriers when you can have a discussion about a serious or personal issue by looking at art.”
The exhibit is scheduled to run through the end of September.
