Artful Minds: Mental Wellness Center’s 27th Annual Art Faire

Who: Mental Wellness Center and Local Artists
What: Art Faire
When: May 20th, 2023, 11am-3pm
Where: Beachfront opposite Chase Palm Park

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and the time to raise awareness of mental health issues has never been more urgent. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently declared mental health as “the defining public health crisis of our time.” Mental Wellness Center has been at the forefront of advancing mental wellness in Santa Barbara for seventy-five years, and has purposefully scheduled its 27th annual hallmark arts festival in May, to coincide with the nationwide effort.

Reimagined going forward as “Artful Minds,” the Arts Faire takes place on Saturday, May 20, from 11 am – 3 pm on the beachfront opposite Chase Palm Park, and showcases the talents of approximately 60 local artists living with mental illness, across a variety of visual and craft mediums which include painting, drawing, jewelry and sculpture. Many discover their talents for the first time as participants in Mental Wellness Center’s Fellowship Club, where peer educators and an art specialist help them explore their emotions through self-expression.