Faith Abiodun Uwaifo writes on the exhibition of 15 outstanding Nigerian artists, who came under the umbrella of TOAH to sensitize the public on mental health issues. The exhibition took place at Alliance Francaise, Lagos.
Nearly a fortnight after the World Health Organisation celebrated World Mental Health Day, 15 Nigerian artists under a not-for-profit umbrella of The Art of Healing (TOAH) have decided to team up to support this cause.
According to the organisers, TOAH is derived from the Yoruba word ‘Ona Iwosan’. It is a charity project that aims to reach people with mental health disorders across Africa through art as a form of therapy. The exhibition will be held October 22 – 25, 2022.
With regards to Africa, the World Health Organisation on the 10th of October 2022 announced that more than 116 million people were estimated to be living with mental health conditions across Africa even before the Covid -19 pandemic. The pandemic had however contributed to an estimated 25% global rise in depression and anxiety hence, the exhibition according to the TOAH founder Ms. NengiOmuku was to create awareness about unnecessary stigmatization of people living with mental health conditions.
She said: “Mental health patients need all the help they can from the government and all sectors of society, and we’re pleased to step in through the arts. “We help people in challenging circumstances by painting hospital rooms with art created by leading contemporary artists to provide wholesomeness and hope and generally improve their experience as patients.
One of the artists, KwadwoAsiedu, a Ghanaian who had lived in Nigeria for 29 years alluded to the fact that these individuals in question are no different from everyone. According to him, this opportunity will serve as a way to further probe the importance of the arts to mental health. He said: ‘I feel like this is a great opportunity to assess how we can further explore how art can be very good for patients. For me, these experiences are highly enlightening. I find it quite interesting that they (patients) are no different from us. They have hopes and dreams and aspirations. So this is a great opportunity to further delve into how we can see and document over an extended period how art can work as a form of therapy within these institutions.
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TAOH took on its first project at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where she is working to transform the interiors of the Psychiatric ward into one that would become the benchmark for other healthcare environments across the African continent. She has installed four murals in the ward and engaged service users and staff in a series of therapeutic art workshops.
Ms. Omuku said, “The art workshops at LUTH demonstrated the positive impact of artistic and creative expression on mental health. This programme of work will go on to inform the murals that are created and ensure the new environments have a relationship with the people who encounter them. We are targeting the minds of mental health patients through what they see by creating an environment that helps them heal. We thank our partners and artists for their support and invite art enthusiasts and members of the public to be part of a worthy cause.”
The exhibition, with the theme We See; We Dream; We Hope will serve as a fundraiser to enable the project completion at the LUTH and continue refurbishing the interiors of mental health institutions in Africa. It will feature the works of AkanimohUmoh, Deborah Segun, EdozieAnedu, Gerald Chukwuma, KelaniAbass, KwadwoAsiedu, NengiOmuku, Niyi Okeowo, NzubechukwuOzoemena, OlayemiFagbohungbe, OlumideOnadipe, Richardson Ovbiebo, RoannaTella, TegaAkpokona, and YadichinmaUkoha-Kalu, and will be curated by Tony Agbapuonwu.
The exhibition is in partnership with Alliance Française de Lagos, a not-for-profit it organization that has been active in Nigeria since 1959, promoting Francophone and national cultures.