community voices
Using Art to Give Voice to Mental Health Stories
Creative expression offered the artists a way to communicate experiences and emotions that can be difficult to put into words.
Published in
IDeas Magazine -
Fall 2026
More than 150 guests gathered at Baltimore’s Helping Up Mission on Saturday, June 13, for Colors of Memory, a public art exhibition jointly hosted by Behavioral Health Equity Across Maryland (BHEAM). Fourteen artists shared their original works, celebrating their personal stories of struggle, resilience, dignity and finding community.
Each artist is a client of BHEAM, a collaboration led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Global and Community Health Equity in Infectious Diseases and funded by the Maryland Department of Health, which provides no-cost behavioral health services to Spanish-speaking immigrants in Baltimore. The work emerged from a psychoeducational support group, where creative expression offered the artists a way to communicate experiences and emotions that can be difficult to put into words.
Kathleen Page, M.D., director of BHEAM and professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says the art show aligns with the program’s mission to support immigrant communities.
“The show brought people together from all backgrounds — community advocates, faculty, leaders from various institutions, and at the center of it all, the artists themselves,” Page says. “At a time when immigrants are too often vilified or portrayed only through the lens of vulnerability, this event showed our shared humanity, creativity and resilience.”
The only criteria for inclusion was a willingness to share personal testimony through creative work. Most of the artists have no formal art training; for many, it was their first time participating in a public exhibition.
In speaking with the artists after the event, BHEAM senior community outreach specialist Jessica Duran says that they felt a collective sense of pride, both in the courage required to create such deeply personal work and in sharing that work with a public audience. Duran says the artists spoke about “discovering talents they did not know they had and realizing that their experience, however difficult, could become part of something meaningful.”
Creating pieces for the show was a cathartic experience for many. As one artist said, art is a way for the soul to “leave traces of what my spirit feels, and my words cannot name.” Another called art “a bridge between the inner and outer world,” allowing space for emotional expression without rules or judgment, where “the true self can emerge.”
On display was a vibrant collection of photography, poetry, ceramics, papier-mâché, traditional weaving, spoken word, paintings, drawings and handicrafts. Seeing it all come together was a powerful experience, says José Ramos, Hispanic outreach manager at Helping Up Mission.
“Each piece created an opportunity to challenge stigma and prejudice, recognize the dignity of individual stories, and strengthen our sense of community,” Ramos says. “Breaking the stigma surrounding mental health begins when we create spaces where people can share their stories and be seen not through the lens of a diagnosis or a difficult chapter in their lives, but through their humanity and capacity to create.”
Page agrees, recounting her conversation with one of the BHEAM artists. She was struck by his piece — a lively, colorful painting featuring a unique structure and traditional motifs. When she learned he had never painted before, she was taken aback.
“He had this incredible hidden talent, but had never had the opportunity to express himself in this way,” Page remembers. “He also shared how vulnerable he felt initially as a man seeking mental health services. This to me shows how BHEAM can help people flourish by creating space for connection, healing and self-expression.”
Each artist is a client of BHEAM, a collaboration led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Global and Community Health Equity in Infectious Diseases and funded by the Maryland Department of Health, which provides no-cost behavioral health services to Spanish-speaking immigrants in Baltimore. The work emerged from a psychoeducational support group, where creative expression offered the artists a way to communicate experiences and emotions that can be difficult to put into words.
Kathleen Page, M.D., director of BHEAM and professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says the art show aligns with the program’s mission to support immigrant communities.
“The show brought people together from all backgrounds — community advocates, faculty, leaders from various institutions, and at the center of it all, the artists themselves,” Page says. “At a time when immigrants are too often vilified or portrayed only through the lens of vulnerability, this event showed our shared humanity, creativity and resilience.”
The only criteria for inclusion was a willingness to share personal testimony through creative work. Most of the artists have no formal art training; for many, it was their first time participating in a public exhibition.
In speaking with the artists after the event, BHEAM senior community outreach specialist Jessica Duran says that they felt a collective sense of pride, both in the courage required to create such deeply personal work and in sharing that work with a public audience. Duran says the artists spoke about “discovering talents they did not know they had and realizing that their experience, however difficult, could become part of something meaningful.”
Creating pieces for the show was a cathartic experience for many. As one artist said, art is a way for the soul to “leave traces of what my spirit feels, and my words cannot name.” Another called art “a bridge between the inner and outer world,” allowing space for emotional expression without rules or judgment, where “the true self can emerge.”
On display was a vibrant collection of photography, poetry, ceramics, papier-mâché, traditional weaving, spoken word, paintings, drawings and handicrafts. Seeing it all come together was a powerful experience, says José Ramos, Hispanic outreach manager at Helping Up Mission.
“Each piece created an opportunity to challenge stigma and prejudice, recognize the dignity of individual stories, and strengthen our sense of community,” Ramos says. “Breaking the stigma surrounding mental health begins when we create spaces where people can share their stories and be seen not through the lens of a diagnosis or a difficult chapter in their lives, but through their humanity and capacity to create.”
Page agrees, recounting her conversation with one of the BHEAM artists. She was struck by his piece — a lively, colorful painting featuring a unique structure and traditional motifs. When she learned he had never painted before, she was taken aback.
“He had this incredible hidden talent, but had never had the opportunity to express himself in this way,” Page remembers. “He also shared how vulnerable he felt initially as a man seeking mental health services. This to me shows how BHEAM can help people flourish by creating space for connection, healing and self-expression.”