Fifteen artists have teamed up to support mental health patients in a major exhibition of their works in Lagos. The Art of Healing is a charity organisation that aims to reach people with such disorders across Africa through art as a form of therapy. It is in partnership with Alliance Francaise de Lagos, a non-for-profit organisation.

The exhibition, which began on Saturday and will be concluded on Tuesday, has as its theme, ‘We See; We Dream, We Hope’, and serves as a fundraiser to enable project completion at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and continue refurbishing the interiors of mental health institutions in Africa.

Speaking at a press conference held in Lagos on Thursday, the founder of TAOH, Benji Oomuku, noted that people battling mental health needed all the help they could get from society and the government.

He said, “Mental health patients need all the help they can get from the government and all sectors of society, and we are pleased to step in through art.

“We help people in challenging circumstances by painting hospital rooms with art created by leading contemporary artists to provide wholesomeness, hope and generally improve their experience as patients.”

He stressed that the organisers were targeting the mind through visuals, thereby creating a healing environment. The exhibition features the works of Akanimo Umoh, Deborah Segun, Edozie Anedu, Gerald Chukwuma, Kelani Abass, Kwaduo Asiedu, Nengi Omuku, Niyi Okeowo, Nzubechukwu Ozoemena, Olayemi Faggohungbe, Olumide Onadipe, Richardson Ovbiebo, Roanna Tella, Tega Akpokona, and Yadichinma Ukoha-Kalu, and will be curated by Tony Agbapuonwu.