Artist that struggled with bipolar disorder inspires exhibit to benefit National Alliance of Mental Illness
40 self-portraits in 40 days
Sarasota art exhibit raises money and awareness for mental health. FOX 13 Photojournalist Barry Wong reports.
SARASOTA, Fla. - The National Alliance on Mental Illness highlights mental health struggles through 40 self-portraits at the Sarasota Art Museum.
The backstory:
As Alison Bushman drove by the headquarters of Sarasota & Manatee counties National Alliance on Mental Illness's (NAMI) branch, she had an epiphany about where Joanna Barnett's work should be displayed.
"Of course it should be NAMI. The NAMI Journal in California was the first to publish her work a year after she died," Bushman explained.
Barnett was her mother's cousin who passed away in 1994 at the age of 49. Her work stayed with her family. Bushman became the steward of it in 2006. Her work included both art and accompanying journal entries.
"It's been really important to me to make sure I'm protecting it," Bushman said. "While she was alive, it was extremely important for her to keep her work together."
The work is a collection called "40 Self-Portraits in 40 Days."
"The entire premise of the project is 40 self-portraits in 40 days in the life of an individual struggling with bipolar disorder," Bushman explained.
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The collection has been shared a handful of times with the public. After moving to Sarasota from Cincinnati, Bushman realized that Barnett's work was now home. Barnett grew up in Orlando and attended the Ringling School of Art. That was the first step to finding the collection of a permanent home.
Bushman got into contact with NAMI last year. Her one request, before donating, was to keep the entire collection together.
"This can really help them," Bushman said. "If it can help them raise money, raise awareness, increase empathy, it just seemed like the perfect fit."
That's exactly what the collection will be doing during its NAMI debut at their second annual Arts & Minds fundraising event on March 25th at the Sarasota Art Museum.
"It's going to be an opportunity to share this collection, share a little bit more about what NAMI does and the programs that we offer. All the programs we offer in the community are free for participants," NAMI Sarasota & Manatee Counties CEO Colleen Thayer said.
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Dig deeper:
NAMI's programs include meals, art classes, workouts and other programs designed to help with mental health struggles.
"Living with a severe and persistent mental illness can be very isolating, and our goal is to really expose people to lots of different things in the community," Thayer said.
What they're saying:
Both Thayer and Bushman say the biggest impact of the collection is painting a picture of what mental illness struggles can look like.
"The most important thing Joanna has done with this collection is to show you how one day she can be full of optimism and pride in her work, and the next day sink into complete despair," Bushman said. "When those of us who haven't had to fight that battle ourselves can begin to get a glimpse of what that must feel like, I think we all become more empathetic."
Bushman wished that Barnett could have seen the impact of her art.
"I think I would just start off by saying, I hope you're proud. I hope that you feel good knowing how much your work has touched other people, knowing that you have left this work that is going to live on for years and years," Bushman said. "I mean, really, isn't that all of us can ask for when we're gone."
What's next:
Tickets for the Arts & Minds event are $100. It includes 90 minutes of access to the Sarasota Art Museum prior to the event starting. There will also be ballet and musical performances.
The Source: Information in this story comes from interviews done by FOX 13 Photojournalist Barry Wong.