Pictured Above: Leo Gomez was one of four artists invited to complete a mural for the ‘You Good?’ project focused on destigmatizing mental health. His mural, at Beau and Mo’s Italian Steakhouse at 2924 Fifth Ave. N., focused on “the importance of mental health for ourselves and those around us, and the many ways we can lift each other up,” according to a post on Gomez’s Instagram.
Courtesy of SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival Facebook
By Catherine Hicks
When artist Jimmy Breen was invited to create a mural focused on destigmatizing mental health with The Pinellas Wellness Connection’s ‘You Good’ campaign, he knew he wanted to find a way to bring the message to life through his art.
“I often paint things with bright colors and happy iconography. For this one, I wanted to emulate the same type of feel that I normally portray, but with something a little bit off,” Breen said. “If you look at the mural at a glance, it’s all smiley faces and bright colors… If you take a moment to look at the artwork closely, none of the faces are particularly happy. One of them looks pretty broken apart, and there’s one that is painted away from the main mural, crying behind a bush.
“The artwork is meant to emulate how we treat each other about mental health. People are asking, ‘You Good?’ and we are giving and accepting stock responses. We need to be able to communicate how we’re authentically feeling with each other, and normalize not being ok. Most of us are not ok.”
The Pinellas Wellness Connection, partnered with the Foundation for a Health St. Petersburg, invited The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance to facilitate the creation of four murals that are focused on destigmatizing mental health and promoting the awareness of available services.
“The intention behind the ‘You Good?’ (campaign) is to raise awareness for mental health services available in Pinellas County and to direct those in need to one comprehensive source for information; The Pinellas Wellness Connection,” said Jenee Priebe, the associate director of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and the SHINE Mural Office. “By using art in public spaces, the campaign sought to reach new audiences and create accessibility.”
SHINE was responsible for selecting the artists and locations for the murals.
“Our goal was to curate artists with diverse styles from around Tampa Bay,” Priebe said. “For walls, we wanted locations more spread out than we typically want for the festival, in order to communicate the message more widely. It was a great opportunity to use walls that we hadn’t previously been able to incorporate into the festival lineup.”
The artists and locations include Jimmy Breen at Sunshine Kitty Catfe, 1669 1st Avenue S, Briuana Walker at Operation Par Inc, 1900 9th St S, James Freeman Kitchens at the Sanderlin Center, 2335 22nd Avenue S and Leo Gomez at Beau & Mo’s Italian Steakhouse, 2924 5th Avenue N.
The campaign hopes to “saturate” Pinellas County with a common contact point to support individuals struggling with a range of issues related to mental health and substance abuse.
“Together, we can leverage this campaign to raise awareness, destigmatize the conversation of mental health and provide a cohesive message of unity, support and understanding to everyone struggling to cope in Pinellas County,” The Pinellas Wellness Connection’s website says.
For Breen, sharing the message of the ‘You Good?’ campaign through his art provided personal fulfillment and came at a time when it is sorely needed by society.
“‘You Good?’ is a beautiful gift for our community…,” Breen said. “As a society our mental health is fragile post-2020. I’m not excluded from this. I know what it’s like to have the debilitating anxiety and depression from unchecked mental health – and it has brought me to a halt in the past. When you’re going through it, it is difficult to find and ask for the help you need. I was excited to jump on this project for the thought that it might help one person overcome some of the same struggles.”
Breen also shares that The Pinellas Wellness Connection is “bringing help to the people who need it most, and they are offering this service to everyone for free.”
“In a time when we are experiencing large levels of national trauma, especially in a year dominated by Coronavirus deaths, joblessness, isolation, violence against BIPOC communities, white supremacy at our Capitol, conspiracy theories and lies running the headlines – our personal problems often seem unimportant and we neglect them.
“If this hotline can help keep one person alive it will have done its job…,” Breen said. “Knowing that there is a group of people who are here to help our community with these heavy and isolating issues is a blessing.”
SHINE collaboration is not the only artistic project residents can expect from The Pinellas Wellness Connection.
“The ‘You Good?’ project is also collaborating with Creative Pinellas and the Warehouse Arts District so keep an eye out for more artistic elements aimed to raise awareness about mental health and wellness. Both organizations have ‘You Good?’ exhibitions in process,” Priebe said.
The SHINE Mural office is continuing to expand and is always welcome to collaborations with organizations “for the purpose of raising awareness for issues facing our community,” Priebe said.
Courtesy of SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival Facebook
