Victoria Maidhof
A work by exhibit curator Victoria Maidhof.
As with many things, it started during the pandemic. Victoria Maidhof noticed people posting on social media about how the shutdowns and stay-at-home orders were changing their mental health. “People who had not previously had mental health issues were starting to experience things I’ve been living with my whole life — depression, anxiety — the isolation was really affecting people,” says Maidhof.
Maidhof, a mixed media artist, envisioned a project that would further destigmatize mental illness. She contacted a friend, Madison artist Kel Mur, and they came up with the idea for a wide-ranging art exhibit to be called Collateral Damage. (The name comes from some of Maidhof’s works in which she manipulates Polaroid film.) “We realized even artists are not openly making work about this,” says Mur.
Kel Mur
When she was 17, Mur says, her life fell apart. “I had a breakdown, I have been hospitalized and this issue is near and dear to me.” But before beginning work on Collateral Damage, she “never announced that to anybody.”
Mur and Maidhof will be curating the show from submissions; the deadline is Oct. 30. Submitting is free, unlike with many shows, so participating is accessible to all. They also want to pay artists for being in the exhibition. “This country is far behind in the way we employ artists,” Mur says. A Facebook fundraiser, a GoFundMe and grants from the Madison Arts Commission and Dane Arts are going toward payment, which they want to be “at least $300, or more like $500 for being in the exhibit and sharing their story,'' says Mur.
Maidhof and Mur want participating artists to speak about their work, either through talks or interviews. “We think that’s super important to the project,” says Maidhof, even though it may be daunting. She notes the continuing negative associations to having a mental health issue: “The word 'bipolar' is used regularly to describe someone in a negative light, if they’re irritating, or volatile — whatever personality part of them the speaker doesn’t like,” Maidhof says. She believes that contributes to people not seeking help: “But I am a testament that it is a totally treatable medical condition.”
Victoria Maidhof
Victoria Maidhof
While the act of making art itself can be therapeutic, the curators hope that the pieces for Collateral Damage will more directly address the show’s theme.
The exhibit will be at the Pyle Center in May 2022. The large space gives the curators some flexibility to incorporate video and film and possibly other performance-based pieces, as well as 2-D media.
Mental health is “a big issue,” says Mur, and “there are many forms of collateral damage” — from hospitalizations and eating disorders, to trying to “present [yourself] as a functional part of society. It’s a potent phrase for this exhibition.”
