Artists from Bahrain and across the Middle East are drawing attention to the complex conversation around psychological wellbeing with their pieces in the region’s first virtual mental health art exhibition.
The virtual reality (VR) exhibition, which started last week and runs until August 10, features 70 pieces from 19 artists, depicting their experiences and struggles with mental health. It is being hosted by The Art Space and curated by Bahraini artist Zayn Al Qahtani.
Esra Faraj, founder and managing director of The Art Space, told GulfWeekly: “The idea behind Safer Spaces was born out of a meeting between Zayn and myself about wanting to bring the mental health conversation to the forefront in the region. Whilst originally the show was supposed to exist within the parameters of the physical Art Space gallery, as the pandemic progressed and the planet went into lockdown, it was not a project that we wanted to give up, pushing the boundaries of technology to create a virtual gallery experience.”
The Art Space received hundreds of applications from across the region, which were curated by Zayn and the team down to the final 19, featuring primarily Bahrain-based artists, in addition to Kuwaiti and Palestinian artists.
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