NAEMI holds 24th annual exhibit at Grove gallery

The National Art Exhibitions by the Mentally Ill (NAEMI), an organization dedicated to collecting, displaying and selling of art by persons in recovery from mental illness, will open its 24th annual exhibition on May 5, 2012, at the Rodez Art Gallery, CocoWalk, 3015 Grand Ave. The image at left is called "Aparacido," by Lucia Ballester.

“By holding the exhibition during May, we hope to bring additional attention to the struggle of those who have been diagnosed with mental illness,” said NAEMI’s Founder Juan Martin.

“Our ultimate goal is to help these artists be recognized and fight the stigma that so often accompanies mental illness.”

Featuring the works of artists from, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Spain and the United States, the exhibition is sponsored by Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs Council and the Miami-Dade county commissioners, and Johnson & Johnson-Janssen. All 40 artworks featured in the exhibition will be available for sale, with the proceeds benefiting the artists and NAEMI’s goals of helping artists from around the world.

The exhibition begins with an opening reception May 5, 2012 from 7:00 –10:00 pm, offering attendees a chance to meet some of the artists and those involved with assembling the show – and will continue through May 26.

Founded in 1988, NAEMI is now operating in the USA and Spain .The organization is dedicated solely to exhibiting and promoting the art of persons recovering from mental illness. NAEMI is working on an international art exhibition “Solo Estamos Vivos Cuando Soñamos” (“We Are Only Alive When We Dream”), a unique and extraordinary exhibition of pin-hole camera works created by artists from the Hospital Borda in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This exhibition will be open in Miami and Spain.