StART the Conversation

Wyandot Behavioral Health Network is hosting its fourth annual stART the conversation art exhibition in May 2024, coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Month. The goal of the stART the conversation art exhibition is to encourage important conversations about mental health by lifting up diverse perspectives, including those of individuals with lived experience of mental illness. This exhibition brings conversations about mental health into community spaces in order to create open and honest dialogues that lead to greater awareness and understanding. We invite you to experience our in-person exhibition on Thursday, May 22, at the KCKCC Technical Education Center (6565 State Ave, Kansas City, KS, 66102).

In 2024, the stART the conversation art exhibition featured 100 works of art created by more than 60 artists — including artwork created by Wyandot BHN clients, staff and other community artists from across the Kansas City metro area. The featured artwork touches on different diagnoses and aspects of an individual’s mental health journey, including healing, stress, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), depression and recovery.

The stART the conversation art exhibition was created to allow those with lived experience of mental illness to help lead conversations about the realities of mental health. We know that art can capture what words cannot and this is particularly true given the stigmatizing language used to talk about mental health. We invite members of the community of all ages to come out, explore the exhibition, meet our artists and learn more about mental health challenges, the resources available to overcome them, and how others have found healing and recovery.