The African artist and mental health, curated by Kuukua Eshun, is a film exhibition and open discussion that seeks to raise awareness about the modern day African artist their emotional and mental health. 


The goal of this event is to: 

1. create a safe space for mental health discussion. (Sharing stories, listening to each other, sharing stories) 
2. To establish a collaborative definition of what mental health looks like to each individual artist.( or what it looks like within our African artist communities.) 
3. To build a network of African artist who will support and encourage each other. 


African communities do not talk about mental health. 
It is critical for the African community to understand and process of mental health illness. 
It’s imperative to admit that mental health is real and should be addressed. Often at time, the experience of the African artist is a singular one. 

One of the biggest factors that influences mental health is the fact that we often feel pressured to paint a perfect picture to the world around us.  The struggle with mental healthy is even more pronounced  When gender rule is thrown into the mist. (Men are taught to be “masculine” and to max their emotions; women are taught to be services, fragile and submissive beings.)  Looking into these systems will reveal how our environments affects our art process.