John Downey, Samaritans, Kate Morgan, See Change, Jen Ronan, See Change Ambassador, Mary Doyle, Shine, and Richard Lynch, I Love Limerick at the See Change Look Beyond Photovoice exhibition launch at the Hunt Museum. Picture: Cian Reinhardt.
See Change launch Look Beyond photovoice research exhibition at the Hunt Museum in Limerick
See Change held a regional launch of their Look Beyond photovoice research exhibition on, Tuesday, November 21, 2017, at 6 pm, in the Hunt Museum, Limerick.
Look Beyond is an exhibition of photographs taken by a group of sixteen people who have experienced what it is like to live with mental health difficulties. It will be on display in the Hunt Museum from Tuesday 21st November until Sunday 3rd December.
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The exhibition is being organised by See Change, the National Mental Health Stigma Reduction Partnership, and is an output of a research project conducted by Dr. Maria Quinlan and Dr. Etáin Quigley from University College Dublin and Maynooth University.
See Change launched Look Beyond photovoice research exhibition at the Hunt Museum in Limerick – Look Beyond is an exhibition of photographs taken by a group of sixteen people who have experienced what it is like to live with mental health difficulties. It will be on display in the Hunt Museum from Tuesday, November 21 until Sunday, December 3.
Photovoice is a research and advocacy methodology which uses photography as a way of giving voice to people who often feel unheard and unseen in society. It has been used internationally to both explore and raise awareness of the stigma associated with experiencing mental health problems.
See Change, established in 2010, is a national partnership working to change minds about mental health problems in Ireland.
The partnership is made up of over 100 organisations and 60 ambassadors who work to create a community-driven social movement to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health problems.
Their vision is an Ireland where every person can be open and positive about their own and others mental health. For more visit www.seechange.ie
Speaking at the launch, See Change’s Kate Morgan said, “We’re delighted to launch ‘Look Beyond’ here in the Hunt Museum in Limerick. ‘Look Beyond’ is the work of 16 people bravely sharing their experiences of mental health difficulties with us through the lens. I would like to thank them for sharing their wisdom, knowledge, and expertise with us. Their moving and insightful work offer us all the chance to really understand our own and others’ mental health challenges.
Naomi O’Nolan, Head of Collections & Exhibitions of the Hunt Museum added, “We are delighted to welcome See Change’s Look Beyond photovoice research exhibition to the museum. It is important to us at The Hunt Museum to provide a platform for projects that help educate the public about issues that affect so many.”
“We hope this unique photovoice research exhibition will offer some understanding of mental health difficulties and encourage more conversations locally and among people visiting Limerick.”
Dr. Maria Quinlan, lead researcher on the project continued, “Projects such as Look Beyond allow for an in-depth, nuanced exploration of a topic, and as the issue of mental health is multi-layered and complex. We believe that the photovoice method is ideally suited to facilitating people to explore and represent their thoughts and feelings in this area”.
Speaking at the regional launch, Jen Ronan, See Change Ambassador said: “As a See Change ambassador, I am so proud to lend my support to their projects in whatever capacity I can. ‘Look Beyond’ is one of their most innovative ventures yet. All of the images in this exhibition are taken by ordinary people dealing with a wide range of mental health difficulties, and their desire is to create a lens through which the outside world can view how they experience life It is a wonderfully creative way to give voice to many of those who would normally find it very difficult to express what they are going through.”
Attending the Look Beyond exhibition launch to show here support was Amanda Clifford, ABC for Mental Health: ” These exhibitions are important because it gets people talking about mental health and once we talk about it the stigma is reduced.”
“It’s wonderful to see the exhibition in the Hunt Museum because they’ve always supported mental health events in the city for the last six years,” she added.
For more information on Look Beyond click here
To read more Mental Health stories on I Love Limerick click
Pictures: Cian Reinhardt
