“Unpack Your Mind” - Opening Reception

THANKS to everyone who came to the opening reception of

“Unpack Your Mind”

a group show by artists with mental health challenges

We do have a complete list events associated with the show on the current page of our website: https://www.dnjgallery.net/current.html

Pamela Schoenberg, owner/director of dnj Gallery, and Ted Meyer, founder of Art and Med, are delighted to present the exhibition, “Unpack your Mind”: a group show by artists with mental health challenges. The Art and Med program, curated by dnj Gallery, includes a ten-week exhibit and corresponding, community-focused events, all highlighting a chronic disease. The Art and Med program is designed to increase awareness, further education, and raise funds for charities.

In the Spring of 2024, Pamela Schoenberg brought the Art and Med program to dnj Gallery. During the pandemic, she studied nutritional science, and then, in 2023, she received her certification as a registered Health Coach. By combining her two passions—art and health—Schoenberg currently displays fine art that calls attention to certain health illnesses. She stresses the current mission to provide a platform for sharing experiences related to these chronic challenges.

The Art and Med curriculum highlights the voice of the artist/patient. Originally, the program was designed by Ted Meyer, artist-in-residence at the USC Keck School of Medicine, for use in medical schools. These visual lessons were used by the schools to illustrate the specific illness and thus emphasize the perspective of the patient. In other words, Meyer reveals a commitment to utilizing art as a tool to support individuals.

This exhibition explores the many ways people experience and navigate their mental well-being. Rather than defining mental health through labels or challenges, this exhibition centers the voices, stories, and creative expressions of those who live with these experiences every day. Through art, the exhibition invites reflection on resilience, vulnerability, care, and the ways individuals make meaning of their journeys. Mental health exists along a spectrum, and every person’s experience is shaped by theirrelationships, communities, and the circumstances they move through. This exhibition seeks to create space for empathy and connection—offering artists an opportunity to share their perspectives and audiences a chance to listen, reflect, and recognize the humanity within these stories.

dnj Gallery will align itself Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services as our community partner for this upcoming exhibition. Didi Hirsch provides compassionate mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention services to individuals and families, especially in communities where discrimination and injustice limit access. They have nine locations throughout the Los Angeles area, offering direct treatment and support, crisis services, and community education and training. The Art and Med program at dnj Gallery is grateful for these participants.

Art is an expressive method used to process emotions, reduce stress, and boost self- awareness. Some might say that it is a means to survival. Similarly, as Mila Fejzo states, “I use the imaginary realm [the paintings] as a way to cope, process, and make sense of intense internal experiences.” No matter the media, it is the development of the art piece that aids in healing. In her artist statement, Kristine Schomaker explains: “[it is] making the invisible visible. Getting it out of my head and onto a surface where I can actually look at it and ask: is this real? Is this concrete? Or, is it made of dots and color and light?” The remaining artists in this group exhibition react to their mental health experiences through art-making as well.

Artist Walk-Thru

Thank you to all who attended the

Artist Walk-Thru  

with Alan Powell, John Stern and Mara Riane 

An event associated with "Conquer Your Own Rhythm" a group show by artists with Epilepsy on Saturday, March 21st.

“Conquer Your Own Rhythm” Exhibition Event

"ABBY NORMAL" 

Thank you to everyone who came to the reading of "Abby Normal." 

This event was the final staged reading of "Abby Normal" which prepared the team for the full theater production.  It is a musical drama about epilepsy designed to break the stigma surrounding the brain disorder, featuring a storyline inspired by the playwright’s granddaughter. The production focuses on a character named Abigail, who battles "Seizure" to find her community, highlighting the emotional and daily challenges faced by patients and their families.

It explores the powerlessness, anxiety, and social challenges associated with the disorder, while focusing on communication within families. 

A musical about Epilepsy may seem unconventional, but it is exactly the kind of unexpected, heart driven art that is needed at this moment.

Artist-Patient/Medical Professional Conversation- "Conquer your own Rhythm" Exhibition Event

 Thank you to all who attended our Epilepsy Artist-Patient/Medical Professional Conversation, which was an exhibition event for "Conquer your own Rhythm."  It took place on Saturday, January 31st.

The conversation included: dnj Gallery artist, Mara Riane, Michel Romero and  Director of the Epilepsy Clinical Program in the Department of Neurology at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), John Stern.  It was moderated by Ted Meyer, co-curator of the dnj Gallery 'Art and Med' program.

To watch this a recording of this discussion, please click here.

Times of Israel: Conquer Your Own Rhythm - Art and Epilepsy

“...When we reconnected via WhatsApp, Pamela told me that she had once focused primarily on conceptual art but experienced what she described as an “aha moment,” the realization that art could do so much more. What she spoke about most vividly was community. She wanted to create a space where people could share their experiences, recognize themselves in others, and feel less alone, a place that could also serve medical professionals, caregivers, and patients seeking to understand one another’s perspectives. ...” - Simone Kussatz

Read the rest here.

Opening Reception - “Conquer Your Own Rhythm”

 THANKS to everyone who came to the opening reception of

“Conquer Your Own Rhythm”

A group show by artists with Epilepsy

We do have a complete list events associated with the show on the current page of our website: https://www.dnjgallery.net/current.html

Pamela Schoenberg, owner/director of dnj Gallery, and Ted Meyer, founder of ArtandMed, are thrilled to announce their exhibition, “Conquer Your Own Rhythm”: a group show by artists with epilepsy.  dnj Gallery organizes a program, entitled Art and Med, consisting of a ten-week exhibit and correlating events that highlight a chronic illness. The purpose of the program is to continue education, raising awareness and gaining funds for charities.

In April 2024, Schoenberg began the Art and Med program at dnj Gallery. She redirected the gallery’s mission to a space with a charitable and educational purpose.  At first, Schoenberg studied nutritional science, and, in 2023, she received her certification as a Functional Health Coach, combining her two passions of art and health. Pamela Schoenberg now exhibits conceptual, fine art that calls attention to certain health conditions to guide and to raise consciousness within our community.

The ArtandMed curriculum emphasized a combined union between the gallery and the artists/patients.  It was created by Ted Meyer, artist-in-residence at the USC Keck School of Medicine, for use in medical schools. He wanted to further healthcare by stressing the voice of the artist/patient in their artwork, and, as a result, he revealed a commitment to utilizing art as a tool to support individuals.

Our next exhibition deals with epilepsy, which is a condition often caused in the brain and identified by seizures.  A seizure is a quick burst of abnormal activity in the brain that can create short gaps of consciousness, muscle twitches or prolonged spasms.  Most of the time, the origin of the seizure is unknown.  In about 30% of cases, genetics, head injuries, brain infections, or immune, developmental or metabolic disorders can generate epilepsy.

dnj Gallery will collaborate with the Los Angeles chapter of The Epilepsy Foundation for our exhibition, “Conquer Your Own Rhythm”. The Epilepsy Foundation, “in collaboration with our community and network partners, connects the people, data and resources needed to address challenging health problems associated with seizures and the epilepsies—and promotes education, policy, research and systemic change that will foster measurable and sustainable improvement for all people living with epilepsy.”  The Art and Med program at dnj Gallery is grateful to learn and grow because of this union.

Art is therapy.  It is a practice of healing.  Healing is a combination of therapeutic processes that lead to quality heath, which occur on physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual levels.  Each work emphasizes the power of art to answer the question of healing. As Hilary Leftwich states, “…[my] writing became the only language that could hold what medicine could not: the daily collision of love, fear, and endurance.”  It evokes feelings, from joy and sorrow to anger and contentment.  In addition, Aaron Moseley explains that “…it becomes a way to understand, accept, and find strength within the unpredictable, that is life.