Art exhibition promotes mental health in White Rock

A White Rock community art exhibition is using local artwork to highlight connection, recovery and inclusion for people living with mental illness and substance-use challenges.

Options Community Services, Fraser Health, Peace Arch Hospital Foundation and the City of White Rock are hosting Expressions at Uptown Gallery, 15140 North Bluff Rd. in Central Plaza. The exhibition opened Sept. 4 and features work by local residents.

Participating artists are connected with Options Community Services’ White Rock Supported Living Program, the Whale House Clubhouse and/or White Rock Mental Health & Substance Use Center/Fraser Health. Their work draws on lived experience and reflects art’s role in self-expression, therapy and storytelling.

Organizers say the exhibition supports social inclusion, reduces stigma and recognizes the contributions of people living with mental illness through psychosocial rehabilitation values. The show runs through September, open Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.