The UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health‘s Dog Parade Art Exhibit will make its inaugural Triangle appearance in October. The fundraiser is sponsored by the Brushes with Life Arts Program and UNC PAWS (Peer Assisted Wellness Support).
The event is modeled on other successful exhibits such as Chicago’s Cow Parade, UNC‘s CowParade North Carolina and last year’s Goat Parade at Galloway Ridge in Chatham County. Dog sculptures were chosen for the exhibit in honor of the Center’s UNC PAWS’ dogs.
Artists from the Center’s Brushes with Life Arts Program, a recovery arts program for individuals with serious mental illness, will paint life-sized fiberglass dogs for the exhibit. Each sculpture will serve as a three-dimensional canvas, and a BWL artist will design, paint, and name the art. The finished sculptures will receive a clear acrylic sealant at a local auto shop.
Local artists will serve as mentors for the project and will work one-on-one with BWL artists.
“The project will empower BWL artists, and it is an opportunity for them to learn new art skills,” says Grayson Bowen, MFA, coordinator of the Brushes with Life Arts Program. “It is a celebration of the talent in the mental health community.”
“A number of accomplished BWL artists who have exhibited at previous shows and have sold art locally will be featured.” he continues.
The painted dogs will tour the Triangle, including a November 12 stop at the Center’s Second Annual No Limits Gala at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center. They will be auctioned online. Proceeds from the Dog Parade will go to Brushes with Life and UNC PAWS.
In its 16th year, the Brushes with Life Arts Program was created to give local adults living with mental illness a venue at which to display and sell their artwork. Its gallery is housed on the ground and third floors of the North Carolina Neurosciences Hospital. BWL art has been featured at many local and state-wide venues including the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the FRANK gallery, UNC Charlotte, the Global FedEx building on UNC’s campus, and the Carrboro library, as well as several area churches. In 2005 the gallery won the Eli Lilly Reintegration Award for Mental Health Advocacy.
To invite the Dog Parade Art Exhibit to visit your organization or for other information about the Dog Parade or UNC Brushes with Life Arts Program, contact grayson_bowen@med.unc.edu.