Art helps teens cope with mental health challenges
Teens grappling with mental health issues can find a way to express their feelings through art.
That’s the premise for the Bridging the Gap art exhibit and reception at the Minnie Peyton Community Center in Bailey’s Crossroads on April 24.
The event was organized by the Fairfax County Youth Move chapter, an organization made up of youths ages 14-22 who have experience navigating mental health and social services or have been unable to get help.
Some of the art expressed youths’ struggles with depression, bipolar disorder, suicidal thoughts, and trauma. Others dealt with the everyday challenges of being a teenager.
A colored-pencil drawing by Camila, a student at Justice High School, showed two sides of a smiling face. She said the piece illustrates how people can be smiling on the outside, but actually feeling anxiety or other negative emotions inside.
Daniela, a student at Herndon High School, said drawing and painting helped relieve the stress of exams. Her painting in the exhibit depicted a scene from the Appalachian Valley, a place she remembered from years ago and always wanted to return to.
Westfield High School student Oco Davenport, a member of Youth Move, said her painting, called “Teeth,” was inspired by one of the characters in a comic book series she’s working on. The work depicts the emotions he’s going through just before he’s mauled to death. “I use this character and his tragic story as a way to vent my own emotions,” she said.
Some of the artists displaying their works at the community center were referred by Fairfax County teachers, said Tara German, director of behavioral health support services at the Jewish Social Service Agency, one of the organizations partnering with Youth Move, along with the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services and Healthy Minds Fairfax.
The JSSA also put out a call for young artists on social media, which drew submissions from across the county.
A piece called “Resistance” submitted by Kassidy from Texas, depicts her struggles with depression and the tension of surviving under pressure. “Creating this piece felt intense and freeing, like turning an internal fight into something I could finally see and confront,” she wrote in her artist’s statement.
“Youth Move gives young people a voice and an opportunity to share their experiences with mental illness and behavioral health challenges,” German said.
“Mental health is something a lot of teens deal with,” said Arjun Modi, a Youth Move member who attends West Springfield High School. “Youth Move is about making people feel good about what they do.”
“We’re supposed to make sure we’re all heard and feel seen,” added Youth Move teen Leona Rush, who works at NCS. “The purpose is to make a community together.”
JSSA CEO Todd Schenk lauded the artists for sharing their stories, calling it an “act of courage and trust.”