By Shalom Shawurwa
Arts curator and Creative Launch Trust manager Laura Ganda says art is a very important element in reflecting around mental health issues and individual experiences.
Speaking at Friendship bench plus trial and Brushes of Wellbeing meeting in Harare on Friday, Ganda said art is a medium tool used to look at different themes coming out from mental health issues such as stigma, resilience, recovery or self-sustaining issues that are seen in a visual form.
“It challenges the artist to become conduit of this and the mental health patient will feel that they have the safe conduit that allows them to express or heal in a way that reflect their own well-being,” she said.
A mental health survivor who spoke on condition of anonymity highlighted the importance of involving individuals with lived experiences in curatorial projects.
“This ensures the project’s relevance. Art is a therapy because with it you are able to externalize emotions” he said.
The Brush strokes of Well-being seek to improve treatment and care for adults with depression.
This is a community engagement program which will be led by adults with lived experiences of depression in collaboration with the project team.
Johannes Marisa a medical practitioner and current president of the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe says mental health is a serious concern for everyone in this world.
“There are more than 150 types of mental health problems which can be categorised into developmental, mood, anxiety, disruptive, obsessive-compulsive, psychotic, among others. Chronic stress can lead to depression.
“It should be understood that when stress becomes prolonged and overwhelming, it can negatively impact mental and physical health, potentially triggering or worsening depressive symptoms. Depression can emerge to cause persistent feeling of sadness and changes in one thinking, sleep, eating habits and actions,” said Marisa
