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Port Moody based Filmmaker Ian Mackenzie is part of a project that is building on the spirit of the global occupy movement. In collaboration with Velcrow Ripper and Charles Eisenstein they have created OccupyLove.
It is their expression of the power of creativity, love and community.
“Psychiatric Tales” draws on Darryl Cunningham’s time working in a psychiatric ward to give a reasoned and sympathetic look into the world of mental illness. In each chapter, Cunningham explores a different mental health problem, using evocative imagery to describe the experience of mental illness, both from the point of view of those beset by illness and their friends and relatives. As Cunningham reveals this human experience, he also shows how society’s perceptions of and reactions to mental illness perpetuate needless stigma, for example, the myth that schizophrenic people are more likely to commit crimes than non-schizophrenic people. “Psychiatric Tales” is a groundbreaking graphic work; it deftly demythologizes and destigmatizes the disorders that 26.2 percent of American adults (and roughly 1-in-5 Canadians) live with every day. Concluding with a reflection on how mental illness has affected his own life, Darryl Cunningham’s “Psychiatric Tales” is a moving, engaging examination of what is, at its root, the human condition.
The strips are brilliantly written and drawn, and do something quite rare in discussion of mental illness – they manage to capture both the experience of people with psychiatric difficulties and the experience of the staff caring for them.
As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression, I think this drawing is an excellent representation of what life with a mood disorder is like. While life may not always be as simple as black and white, the shades of gray can be very difficult to get through. When I get to this point, I try to add some colour to my world, and work with and through whatever I may be feeling or dealing with at that time.
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I have the amazing opportunity to speak about my experience with art and change.
My calling as an artist was not something that I had originally planned, I went to school, got a business degree and then by a series of events had a major shift in what I perceived as my self determined life.
My Art is personal and diverse; however many would feel that the mediums I work with are scattered and fragmented. However, I have found a way to acquire tools that can give the message the best and most meaningful impact. I believe that if you are trying to change the environment around you, then you need to start with the understanding of how you relate to them and communicate with them that gets their attention. That starts by listening.
Art can give you the power if handled correctly.
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ART FOR SOCIAL CHANGE PANEL DISCUSSION
Saturday Nov 13th,
10am – 1pm
Purpose: To create dialogue and discussion around issues related to art and mental health and the impact for social change.
Two panels and a discussion with experts and activists in the field of art for social change. Stimulating discussion exploring the role art has in making an impact on the world around us. Topics include: Art and Mental Health, Psycho-Geography and
Displacement, and Art and Social Activism.
FREE ADMISSION
Tea, coffee and food provided
ART FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
PANEL DISCUSSION
Sat Nov 13th, 10am – 1pm
10am - WELCOME AND INTRO
Moderator: Bernadine Fox, BFA
Fox hails from a place on this planet that is so flat you can see company coming over ten miles away. She raised two girls as a single parent and is now a single nana raising her granddaughter. She paints, draws, teaches, curates, writes, and organizes art events. Her work is created for and about the modern woman.
PANEL 1 – ART FOR SOCIAL CHANGE – GLOBAL THINKING
This panel explores and expands on the idea of using art as a means to affect deep and lasting social change and how these ideas can be applied universally. Through art, we can challenge many of our society’s deepest assumptions, and each of these speakers has built upon the power of artistic creation and expression to spark creative thinking and elicit new actions in their communities.
10:10am
Keynote speaker: Judith Marcuse, International Centre of Art for Social Change
Judith Marcuse gives us an overview of “art for social change” and how she is furthering and helping to develop this significant field in her work.
Judith Marcuse’s career spans over 40 years as a dancer, choreographer, director, producer, teacher, writer and lecturer. She has created over 100 original works in dance, theatre and opera, for film and television, and has produced large-scale national and global festivals. Her repertory dance company toured Canada and internationally for over 15 years. Her work with and for young people has included multifaceted initiatives – workshops with thousands of young people, the creation and touring of live stage productions, and television and film projects.
A pioneer in the field of arts for social change, Judith teaches and presents in university and other settings in Canada and abroad, most recently in The Hague and in Durban. Recipient of many awards, including Canada’s major awards in choreography and an honorary doctorate from Simon Fraser University, she is the founder of the International Centre of Art for Social Change (ICASC), a global hub for learning, networking, research and training in the burgeoning field of arts for social change. www.icasc.ca
10.30am
Don Wright, Amnesty International
Don Wright is a regional development coordinator with Amnesty International Canada, with responsibility for BC/Yukon and Alberta. He works with Amnesty members and groups, as well as the public and media, to promote respect for human rights and end the violation of human rights around the world. Every year he organizes the annual Amnesty International Film Festival, which now includes an art exhibition, this year featuring protest art. Over the years he has also collaborated with theatre companies addressing social issues through performance. Prior to working with Amnesty International, Don had worked with visual artists to organize exhibitions on racism and violence against women.
10:40am
Jay Peachy, Producer, Sound Therapy Radio, CJSF 90.1fm
Jay is a self-proclaimed arts-based advocate for mental health who strives to demystify and eliminate stigma around these issues. His initiatives include being a collective member (2010) of Gallery Gachet and the Producer and Host of Sound Therapy Radio, a peer oriented mental wellness show on CJSF 90.1 FM.
10:50am
Quin Martins, Collective Member, Gallery Gachet
Quin Martins has been a Collective Member at Gallery Gachet for 4 years now. He believes in the role of artist run centres like Gallery Gachet and its mandate of furthering dialogue around mental health issues and giving a platform to Outsider/non-mainstream artists who believe that “art is a means for survival”.
11 – 11.20 BREAK - REFRESHMENTS
PANEL 2 – THE IMPACT OF ART IN THE DTES
Art and art activism has long been a part of life in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside - never more so than during the lead-up to the 2010 Olympics, from which our community is still recovering. It is not only the creative heart of the city, but also a place where art speaks most urgently to political and social concerns. Our presenters will speak of their experiences of using art as a way to provoke, organize, and create radical change in Canada’s Downtown Eastside.
11.20am
Earle Peach
Earle Peach is a local musician, composer, songwriter, conductor, teacher and activist, director of four choirs and member of three bands.
11.30am
Karen Ward, Collective Member, Gallery Gachet, and Editor-in-Chief, The Ear
Karen Ward is a writer, photographer, and builder: an artist and proponent of neurological diversity. She lives with a bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress syndrome and of course a cat.
11:40am
Terry Hunter, Moving Theatre Company
Terry is the director of Vancouver Moving Theatre which in recent years has shifted from touring towards producing large-scale community engaged cultural events including the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, an annual event that celebrates the artists, history, culture, people and stories of the Downtown Eastside.
11:50am
Ali Lohan, Oppenheimer Park
As an artist and an art-based community organizer living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Ali’s practice involves working closely with residents, artists, and organizations, and creating projects that invite local collaboration while implementing a new framework for community engagement. Her interest comes from her experiential understanding of how community arts can be a powerful tool for fostering creativity, dialogue, empowerment, belonging, purpose, inspiration and celebration.
12 – 12.10 LUNCH BREAK
12.10 – 1pm
Open discussion forum moderated by Bernadine Fox
Q & A – from audience
Goal – to create 10 points of action for using art to bring about social change!
12.50
Closing remarks from Bernadine Fox
Thank you to the generous support of the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival!
Local Musician David Blair joins the Sound Therapy Radio team as the in-house Singer Songwriter and will help us explore themes of music, writing and how to make your song feel like a warm and friendly hug.
David Blair known within the music community as a ‘Serial Hugger’ will share stories about his healthy and creative life, including navigating the complexities of day to day relationships. Specifically, David tells us how he has been able to re-define a long term relationship as anything that lasts longer than 90 days.
Nothing but exciting times with Mr. Blair, a hug and a smile is guaranteed with every transaction.
October 12, 2010
The Sound Therapy Radio team is proud to announce they are winners of two CJSF Awards.
Best Remote Broadcast: ‘The Artist Lounge’
Volunteer Programmer of the Year: J Peachy, Creator of Sound Therapy Radio.
Our first year has definitely been an exciting one and an incredible learning experience. The culture at CJSF 90.1 FM has really allowed us to push the boundaries of traditional community radio and explore different ways to spread the message. This has given us the opportunity to bring people together who have different skills but a common interest in advocating for the arts and mental wellness.
The Artist Lounge remote broadcasts really can’t happen without the coordination between many people who are busy with their own projects. Without the support and commitment by Ryan Fletcher host of ‘Melodies in Mind’ the other half of ‘Tuesday Night Live’, we would have not been able to have as much fun and success that we have had to date. Undoubtedly, we expect that to continue.
Although the Volunteer of the Year is a personal award, it doesn’t come without people believing in your vision and trusting that I could follow through. Its definitely flattering and inspires me to continue and evolve the programming. There are many present and past contributors and guests who must share in the accolades in what at one time was merely a personal art project for me.
I think its an exciting time for community based media and am privileged to be associated with such a progressive station.
jp
We are excited to announce that Melanie Rose will be joining the Sound Therapy Radio team. Melanie is burning up the comedic world and will be helping add some lightness to our sometimes dark episodes. An Alumni of the Stand up for Mental Health program, Melanie attributes comedy for saving her from some pretty despair times.
Melanie has learned that laughter is always the best medicine. She has learned not to PANIC when she is MANIC.
Although, her love for tye dye shirts might be helping her get over the Ex.…it may also explain why she is still single.
She is a mother of 4 girls that don’t live with her (a long story).. but she is real…Anxiety and all…she tells jokes and stories of her life, and hopefully shows people it might just be OK to be “Crazy”.
So be on the lookout for Melanie on the airwaves of Sound Therapy Radio
‘Environmental Warnings’ is by Meera Sethi, a Canadian Artist of Indian origin who also has a strong background in design. She combines those mediums in this piece, displayed on four seperate windows.
“Inspired by the work of writers Vandana Shiva and Arundhati Roy, Environmental Warnings is a comment on the invisible, silent toxins we encounter everyday,” she explains in a press release. “Using the language of street signs, I have created symbols that raise our awareness of the many environmental threats that cross an urban space.
“Pesticides, toxic water, landfills, deforestation, nuclear testing, plastics, GMO seeds, gas spills, carbon emissions, water wastage/shortages, energy wastage/shortages, ozone reduction and the patenting of staple foods such as rice are some of the issues I explore. These signs are universal as the toxins are global. Although they impact us differently depending on our privilege, they impact us all. They make equal sense in Toronto or New Delhi, Bangkok or New York.
“The use of soft, pastel colours is deliberate. The colours and the messages are incongruous. The colours signal calm while the symbols signal danger. This irony is a comment on the food industry that uses pleasing packaging to sell us products that are toxic to our health, the environment and society. The childlike colours also reference the impact these invisible, silent toxins are having on children.”
Street signs connote warning if not outright danger, and are a simple, everyday, universally used way to get a point across. In this way, ‘Environmental Warnings’ becomes accessible to everybody.
Patrick Connors
Sound Therapy Radio is seeking volunteers to work on their Multicast Broadcast Team (Radio, Internet and Television). We are a community based Arts and Mental Health program which has won both local and National Awards. In addition to broadcasting on CJSF 90.1 FM in Burnaby, the show will air weekly video segments of the program on Shaw Cable 4 Vancouver, Cable 11 Victoria, 7:30 pm on Saturday and Sunday evening.
We are looking for people who are eager to learn and have an interest in Independent Arts, Entertainment, New Media, Communications and Mental Health. We are in search of individuals who can commit regular participation on a long term basis. We will train, mentor and support people who wish to build a portfolio of experience. Our production locations are varied and can be either live or pre-recorded in studio or in an outreach format at community events.
Those who are interested can email a CV and let us know what inspires you.
email us: volunteer (at) soundtherapyradio.com
Some of the roles include
- On-Site Broadcast Production and Coordination
- Audio Technician - On Site Broadcasts
- Show research and production
- Marketing and Promotion
- Social Media and Networking
- Radio Post Production
- Video Filming and Post Production
For more information on the programs go to:
Also see us on Facebook:
Sound Therapy Radio: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sound-Therapy-Radio/238285791207?ref=ts
CJSF wins National Radio Award for Homelessness Marathon Radio Broadcast.
Burnaby BC, June 12, 2010: Every year, The National Campus Community and Campus Radio Association (NCRA) recognizes outstanding programming from its 72 member stations across Canada. The CJSF broadcast for the ‘Homelessness Marathon - Artist Edition’, was selected as the National winner in the Special Programming Category. This episode was co produced and hosted by Sound Therapy Radio’s, J Peachy and Ryan Fletcher of Melodies in Mind, both are programmers at CJSF 90.1 FM in Burnaby.
This live episode in front of a studio audience at the W2 Culture and Media House was broadcast to over 30 stations across the country. The 3 hour episode featured Homeless Artists and musicians on the program and gave them an opportunity for a voice and performance.
“This broadcast was a special event in many ways. With the Olympics in Vancouver and homelessness as a critical issue, we were very fortunate to have many volunteers at CJSF and W2 put their passion towards this project. It was a milestone event in many ways and the fact we were able to have an opportunity to give people a voice, is what makes community independent media special. A special thanks to our guests Star, Ricky, Montana King and many musicians including adaline, The Hot Corn Ramblers, Derick, Robin Livingston and others unnamed who helped be part of a beautiful episode”, states J Peachy a co-producer of the program.
The broadcast date was on on February 23, 2010 during the Olympics and hosted in front of a live audience at W2 Culture and Media House. Listen to the original episode here.
National Campus and Community Radio
About NCRA
The National Campus and Community Radio Association/l’Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires is a not-for-profit group of organizations and individuals committed to over 70 volunteer-driven, non-profit, community-oriented radio across Canada.
Their goals are to ensure stability and support for individual stations and the long-term growth and effectiveness of the sector. NCRA also promotes public education about community media and help represent community radio to government and other agencies.
NCRA membership is open to: community-based and instructional campus stations; English, French and native community stations; and other supportive businesses and individuals.
For more information, on NCRA, see ncra.ca
Canada Post, taking a risk to deliver hope.
January 7, 2011 in Arts Review, Commentary | by J Peachy | 2 comments
Since 2008 Canada Post has been able to raise over 4.5 Million Dollars for Mental Health Progams.
We had the chance to speak with Cindy Daoust, Manager Cause of Choice with Canada Post and the Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health. Cindy talks about the risk of choosing Mental Health as its cause of choice, as well as how the commonly known American Slang “Going Postal” and its association to violence in the workplace may be perceived in their efforts.
The foundation raises funds through a number of initiatives based on individual donations. In support of this initiative Canada Post has created the first ever public design competition for a Stamp Design. Cindy talks about the challenges of providing this opportunity to those with Mental Health issues and balancing the challenges and expectations involved with such a public based voting process.
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