Moving Horizons, Mental State of Time; mobile self-empowerment workshops and poster action
The topic is mental health and the lack of mental health care for adolescents and young people in Croatia. The project is divided into three separate stages:
1. Journalistic research on the increase in self-harm and suicide among young people.
2. Multimedia art workshops with high school art students focused on empowerment and raising self-confidence.
3. Transferring students’ pieces in the form of city light posters to four places in Zagreb.
Experts warn of a global mental health crisis among youth, and studies show that rates of depression, anxiety, self harm, and suicide have risen, especially after the pandemic. The data for Croatia is alarming: suicides saw a slight increase in 2020 compared to the previous year, but there has been a 57.1% increase in suicides in the 15–25 age group. In 2022, compared to 2021, the Croatian Ministry recorded a 280% increase in suicide attempts among girls under the age of 14. Although suicides are a sensitive topic, it is necessary to modernize the ways of dealing with them, both through direct work with young people and through the available content that will circulate in public spheres, primarily for information and prevention.
The second part of the project is multimedia workshops intended for high school art students, focused on empowerment, deepening the sense of belonging, and raising self-confidence through experiments with conceptual drawing and interactive sculpture objects. In the introductory part, journalist Barbara and psychotherapist Lejla Talić, participate with the students, and I, as an artist, accompany them in the artistic process.
The works will be photographed and, with selected facts, transferred in the form of city light posters to four places in the center of Zagreb in October. The project articulation is aimed at public outdoor and indoor spaces, with a focus on empowering local communities, parents, and children with a message of sharing mental health experiences.
