''Nothing to Hide'' Photo exhibit about families and mental illness at Wheaton
April 19, 2000
''It is a struggle to have a mental illness and a real test of my ability to survive. All I ask is that I am understood and accepted for who I am. I am a person, not just a label.''
The words above, a quote from a woman with schizophrenia, illustrate the compelling and intensely personal nature of Nothing to Hide: Mental Illness in the Family, a traveling photo-text exhibit on display at Wheaton from April 24 through May 21.
The exhibit presents photographs by photographer Gigi Kaeser and interviews conducted by Wheaton alumna Jean Beard [base ']65 and Peggy Gillespie, both clinical social workers specializing in metal illness. Beard will be at Wheaton on April 26 to speak about her involvement with the project.
The two interviewers met with twenty families whose lives are affected by schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, major depression, anxiety disorders, autism and other brain disorders. The photos and text in this exhibit work to dispel harmful stereotypes, myths and misconceptions about mental illness.
The exhibit is produced by Family Diversity Projects, Inc., a non-profit organization devoted to educating the public about issues related to the diversity of family. Family Diversity Projects currently distributes four different photo-text exhibits on the diversity within families that travel nationwide to schools, museums, libraries, places of worship and conferences.
The exhibit, running from April 24-May 21, and Jean Beard[base ']s talk on April 26 at 5:30 are both open without charge to the public. The exhibit will be in the Madeline Clark Wallace Library at Wheaton College. For times and more information, contact Linda Collins at 508-286-3709.
For directions to Wheaton, go to www.wheatoncollege.edu/about/directions or call 508-286-5602.