Art & Addiction Exhibition: Tallahassee, FL 2010 (Updated Version)

In August of 2009, Johns Hopkins Innovator’s Combating Substance Abuse Program sent out guidebooks to artists whose art had been published in their Addiction & Art book. This guidebook, which is available on their website, outlined how to organize a local art show on art and addiction. As a contributing artist and art therapy PhD student, the idea for a show interested me. This video tells the story of an art exhibition on the theme of drug addiction and recovery, the lives that were touched by the art and the artists who created the work. Performers Ashley brown (dancer) and Shanon Sloan (singer) invigorated the opening reception with moving interpretations of the theme of the show. Dr. Anniina Guyas led an experiential and invited attendees to directly interact with the artwork by posting comments describing how the work impacted them as the viewer emotionally. Several of the artists were interviewed and their statements shed light on how art can humanize individuals experiencing addiction and their struggles. Also described were the victories of recovery and the role art played in that process. Throughout the show, the visual portrayals revealed that the disease of addiction can strike in any home regardless of socio-economic status and the pain and heartache of substance abuse ripples beyond the individual experiencing addiction into the lives of their family members, the community, and the world at large. This show received media attention, and the opening was …
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