A National Network of Mad Artists

“Madness is the nobility of the soul at odds with circumstance.”

                                                                  Theodore Roethke 

Altered States of the Arts is a nationwide network of creative people who are current or former recipients of psychiatric services.  Breaking away from tradition, many of us call ourselves, “MAD Artists” or “Crazy Folk Artists”, both used to re-claim power over historically negative stereotypes and for use of their expanded meanings (e.g. excitement, outrageous, foolish, “infatuated with”).  Some of us prefer to call ourselves “Healing Artists” with an emphasis on art that promoted healing and wellness.  See “The Arts as Alternative” an essay on art in in institutional environments and the correlation with feelings of extreme mental states and abuse in the system. 

 

Our purpose is to promote the arts as a vehicle for social change and personal empowerment.  We promote artists, writers and performers throughout the country whose art contains a “message” about their mental health issues that can provide insight and understanding to a wide audience of persons receiving services, mental health providers and the public at large.

 

Our Goals:

 

· To maintain the Altered States Website that provides news and updates of arts opportunities throughout the country, a quarterly art exhibit of visual art and writings, and a database of arts programs throughout the country.

 

· To promote performances at conferences, festivals and rallies

 

· To hold the MAD heARTS Festival annually, the first of which will take place in the summer of 2008 near Sarasota, FL.

 

· To provide technical assistance to state institutions and hospital facilities on ways to add art as a meaningful healing tool

 

· To create a network for artists with a wide variety of disabilities or problems including trauma survivors and others

 

· To promote the arts as part of policy making and leadership potential