
Author: ArtSavesLives Charlotte Farhan


Able in This Diverse Universe writing competition – Call for Creative Writers

2015 in review

Welcome Jade Bryant as ASLI’s Newest Team Member

Call for Submissions – Call for Artists for NEW ASLI Campaign; Capitalism, Poverty and War. Get Involved & create change.

Editor’s Letter – Issue 2 – Mental Illness, Health and Recovery

Debs Carter wants to help women share their stories with one another, as she has about her struggles with depression, connecting each other through her amazing organisation The Touch Network.

Indian visual artist Sravanthi Juluri speaks to ASLI, “my work has been a major source of healing in my life. I never thought my art could actually help women in distress to come out in the open about the abuse they have faced and open up a platform to raise our voices and say no to violence against women”.

Musician and composer Shell Dooley speaks about music as therapy “I think creative expression is one of the best forms of therapy. It gives an individual a chance to communicate feelings that may not be able to come out in other forms. It can also be very calming and provide a focus and stability”.

Writer and poet Janeen Pergrin Rastall speaks to ASLI “I believe that creative work can inspire people to endure, to have hope and to express their dreams and despairs in a positive way”.

ASLI Team member and artist Lisa Reeve talks about having mental illness and using art, “I find art a less threatening way to articulate my thoughts and feelings, it is great therapy and gives me a sense of achievement and productivity”.

Andrea Ballance is a survivor of the Buddhist group NKT and tells ASLI “I have lived through PTSD and RT (religious trauma). I feel that I have something to say that can help people. I feel art in all its facets has an important role to play in an individual’s health and the health of our whole society”.

Esi Yankey speaks to ASLI about domestic violence and PTSD and says “I am firmly committed to speaking up on topics that too many people remain silent on.”

ASLI Artist Louise Tomkinson states: “to me, “art saves lives” means having the power to use the language of art, as art is strong enough to pull someone back from the brink, therefore becoming the voice which enables art to create change”.

Youth, mental illness and discrimination. A theoretical approach By Becky Saunders

ASLI Team Member Becky Saunders “My journey in a nutshell” – Mental Illness, Health and Recovery

ASLI Speak to Artist Mistresslisa Taylor about mental health and art in which she states, “Hand on my heart, art has saved my life. Without it I would be dead”.

Artist Jade Bryant is fiercely tackling her mental illness with art and in the process is changing the world’s awareness of Borderline Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Composer and writer Sophie Jupillat talks to ASLI about her experiences with mental illness “Being able to write creatively and play music was a secret garden in my world of chaos and destruction”.
