Dear All, 

We want to share about art4good - a year long campaign to create mental health related images. 

Suicide Prevention India Foundation (SPIF) a Section-8 not-for-profit, has partnered with the Wikimedia Foundation  to launch art4good, an initiative that invites professional artists, photographers, students, and amateurs to create the world’s largest repository of mental health-related imagery. The year-long initiative, which commences in December 2021, aims to leverage the power of visual imagery to reframe the narrative around mental health in an effort to increase awareness, reduce stigma, bust myths, and encourage help-seeking. 

Under this collaboration, art4good is inviting participants to curate artwork that helps create awareness, break stigma, and promote dialogue around mental health. SPIF will release the art4good posters under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 license and make them freely accessible on Wikimedia Commons for volunteers to use on Mental Health/Suicide Prevention-related articles on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.

False representations of mental health can have damaging effects. There are numerous studies that highlight how entertainment and news media’s representation of mental illness and those with mental illnesses are exaggerated, dramatic and even distorted. Worryingly, those with mental illness are presented as dangerous, potentially criminal and socially inept. A paper by researcher Heather Stuart noted that the media focuses on negative reactions to the mentally ill, including fear, rejection, derision and ridicule. This negative portrayal impairs self-esteem, reduces help-seeking behaviours, meddles with medication adherence and overall recovery. 

Individuals from across the Wikimedia movement developed the Wikimedia 2030 Movement Strategy Recommendations to enable the movement to grow sustainably and inclusively. Recommendation #8 highlights “Identifying Topics for Impact” as a priority for the movement. Improving Wikipedia’s coverage of suicide to better align with the recommendations of public health experts is just one way that the movement can focus on the impact of our projects on the public’s understanding of suicide and suicide prevention.[1]

Wikipedia's health material is the most accessed resource for health information on the internet [2]. As a result, Wikimedia communities have an opportunity to increase access to knowledge on suicide prevention as a key impact subject.

art4good is a year-long campaign starting this month (December 2021). These free-to-download and distribute images will seek to leverage the popularity of memes, cartoons, illustrations, infographics, and also the enduring power of photos to support text-based narratives. The winners will stand a chance to win exclusive merchandise and a participation certificate.

What themes is the campaign targeting?:

The campaign will focus on 10 main themes, which have been curated to provide direction and structure, but should not be limiting, participants can choose their own themes.

1. I, me, myself (Self-care)
2. You are not alone (Care-giving)
3. Ssh-out - stop the silence (Reduce stigma around mental health)
4. Color your emotions (Speak up, don’t bottle your emotions)
5. Digitally connected, socially isolated (downsides of dopamine rush from digital)
6. Work-life balance (Yin-Yang, time to seek balance)
7. Your life matters (Choose life)
8. Help-seeking is cool (We all need a little help)
9. Protective factors (Who or what are my safety nets?)
10. Neurodivergent (We maybe different but same)

How can I participate?

Pick your theme or make your own theme, spend time making something that will change hearts and mindsets, and then log onto https://paintyourblues.com/submission/ and hit submit. The images will be reviewed and then uploaded to Wikimedia Commons after the end of every month by SPIF.

We would like to invite everyone to amplify this initiative and participate in bringing awareness to this cause through the art4good campaign.

Best,

Praveen Das