PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – A new art exhibit in Plattsburgh is using photography and visual art to open conversations about mental health.
The “Holding Space” exhibit at the Strand Center for the Arts features 129 pieces, including work by photographer Ron Nolland, who picked up photography nearly 22 years ago at his wife’s suggestion.
“It’s Father’s Day, your daughter’s pregnant, you are going to want to take pictures of the baby, get yourself a camera for Father’s Day,” Nolland recalled thinking.
Over the next two decades, Nolland used his camera to explore the world around him and the quiet, internal moments people deal with every day. “I think we all have friends and family members that struggle with mental health, and I don’t see how we can look at it any other way than it’s a journey that we need to help people through,” Nolland said. “If I can take, create an image, and someone can see the world I saw, that to me is thrilling.”
The Strand partnered with Behavioral Health Services North for the exhibit.
“Anybody that’s on a journey with mental health or mental illness knows that it’s really important to feel seen and heard, and I think this space was a really beautiful place to allow people to show up and feel that way,” said BHSN’s Barb Guay, who helped organize the exhibit and is also a contributor. “I encourage people to do things to stay well, and so art has been a really beautiful way for me to try and stay well. I created a self-care plan to help myself stay on track because a big thing of working in the recovery world is being able to embody that.”
The exhibit runs through the end of the month.
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