Empathy and Hope exhibition comes to Durban

CHAPTER 2: Empathy and Hope Project, a travelling exhibition in different media which looks at people struggling with their emotional and mental health, opens at the Durban Art Gallery (DAG) on Thursday, 12 March where it runs until 3 May.

This is a companion to an exhibition staged by DAG last year looking at similar issues, and the exhibition is presented by the Global Mental Health Peer Network.

“The exhibition was born from my own experiences of people struggling with their emotional and mental health. I’ve seen the devastation of hopelessness in the eyes of loved ones, friends and strangers and the inhumanity caused by the lack of empathy towards those struggling with mental illness every day,” explained project originator, global mental health advocate and social impact entrepreneur, Chantelle Booysen.

The body of work called Paradise, by Thabiso Sekgala, depicts a severe and sincere sense of loneliness of space, structures and a void of human connection, and the body of work called Nyope, by Lindokuhle Sobekwa, captures the rawness of drug abuse in the community where he grew up in. Exhibits include a series of photographs taken by Obakeng Molepe for the Denis Hurley Centre of homeless people last year in his Homeless 101 project.

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Also included are images from a photographic exercise with young students from a Refugee Centre in the Durban area, and an audio-visual installation shot by photographer Robin Hammond which is focused on a collection of stories which is related to the devastating loss of 150 people that were removed from a government psychiatric hospitals due to neglect and disregard for human life.

The exhibition opens on Thursday, 12 March at 6pm at the DAG, 2nd floor of the Durban City Hall.

Gallery hours are Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 4pm and Sundays 11am to 4pm. Contact Jenny Stretton 031 311 2264 or 031 332 7286.

On Wednesday, 18 March at 12.30pm there will be a public seminar with four panellists and a facilitator in the same space, to explore these themes further and engage in in-depth conversations about mental health and well-being in communities.

Groups are most welcome to use this exhibition as a visual tool for debate around issues of mental and emotional health – special educational guided walkabouts can be arranged on request.
Contact empathyhopeproject@gmail.com.

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