Press Play: Exhibition – Opening Reception

388 Ninth Street, Suite 290, Oakland CA

01 October, 2022

Description

Oct 1, Sat @ 4:00 pm at Oakland Asian Cultural Center Opening Reception (in-person / hybrid) with a special reading by Bay Area writers Dawn Angelicca Barcelona and Hannah Wastyk In honor of Mental Illness Awareness Week (Oct 3-9) and World Mental Health Day (Oct 10), Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC) is exhibiting award-winning mental health comic Press Play to spark meaningful conversations and combat stigmas around mental health. Co-presented by ARTogether and Asian Health Services, in collaboration with community partners NAMI San Francisco Mental Illness (NAMI) San Francisco, Justice Murals, and Lincoln Summer Nights, the month-long event will feature a family-friendly collaborative painting activity and panel discussions with mental health professionals and local Bay Area writers who engage in mental health topics in their work. Local organizations offering mental health services are also tabling during key event dates to share resources and information. Written by Edward Gunawan and illustrated by Elbert Lim, the comic is created especially to address the stigma of mental health in the Asian/Asian American as well as immigrant/refugee communities. Through a first-person narrative and evocative hand-drawn black-and-white illustrations, the comic follows an individual’s mental health journey in overcoming anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.