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Mural Gives a Voice to Those With Mental Illness

Photo by Betsy Bethel Artist Brian Wilke of Pittsburgh puts some highlights on the partially installed mural on the side of the Wheeling Cycle building on 17th Street in East Wheeling. The mural is the result of ideas and sketches developed by clients at the Marian House Drop-in Center for people with mental illnesses, as well as people served by the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center, both of which are on 18th Street.

Three years ago, inspired by an extensive inner-city mural project in Philadelphia, Bianca Benson hatched a plan to erect a mural in East Wheeling that would represent the realities facing her clients at the Marian House, a drop-in center opened by the local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

“My goal was really to get the consumers at the Marian House to have a voice in the community but also to become more active … to help them become active participants, resolving issues and problems,” Benson said.

Benson, the center’s associate director and a master’s degree art therapy student, launched a grassroots campaign to raise money for supplies and to pay an artist to create the mural, which was based on sketches and ideas presented by the Marian House regulars. Some people served by the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center also contributed to the project, Benson said.

The artist, Bernie Wilke, installed the mural and put the finishing touches on it last week. The colorful 23-1/2-foot by 21-foot mural depicts several scenes that evoke despair and helplessness on the left side of the canvas, progressing into scenes of hope and joy on the right.

Benson said she sat down with the folks at the Marian House and Catholic Charities center about two years ago and brainstormed ideas for what the mural should include. Narrowing down their ideas wasn’t easy as many of the people were coming from different backgrounds and perspectives, but Benson said they eventually decided on a few ideas that they roughly sketched. She took those sketches to Wilke, and he came up with a design that Benson took back to the center, where the group responded with changes. A final design was agreed upon, and the first painting session took place about a year ago, with help from all the stakeholders.

The mural is made up of 3-foot by 5-foot panels that Wilke took back to his studio, 448 Studios in Etna, Pa., to work on. He began installing the panels last week on the west side of the Wheeling Cycle building at 134 17th St., with plans to finish on Friday. All that’s left to do, Benson said early Friday afternoon, is apply the sealant.

The fundraising goal was $10,000, but only $7,050 was raised, Benson said. Wilke agreed to lower his fee, and a lift was provided as a $750 in-kind donation by Bridgeport Equipment and Tool, which helped lower the overall cost, Benson said. She noted about $4,000 was raised by individuals through a crowdfunding campaign. NAMI donated $1,000, as did both Wheeling Heritage and an anonymous donor.

Wilke, who has painted 72 murals — including 25 in Philadelphia and 27 in Indiana, Pa. — said the mural’s subject matter was darker than what he’s used to seeing.

“What I think is great and to their credit is they wanted to show some pain, some despair, … but then they obviously wanted to show hope in the midst of that or from that.”

Benson said she let them take the reins on the design. “My job was to be the facilitator,” she said. “My goal was to get them to work with each other more, which is not something that so much is traditionally done in a lot of mental health situations. I didn’t want to be an expert coming in and telling them what to do.”

There was some disagreement, which was to be expected, she said, but she saw how it brought the people working on it together, as well. Working together on a project of this magnitude, one that will be on display for the community to see, gave them a sense of empowerment, she said. The actual act of helping to paint the first layers also inspired some of them.

“Some people who didn’t think they could do it because they were having pain, they actually ended up getting really into it. They were there first thing in the morning to see if we were working on it that day. It helped take their mind off the pain. …

“To me, it’s just a testimony to just how powerful art therapy can be,” Benson said.

She didn’t want to elaborate on the meaning of the images in the mural because art is meant to be interpreted by the viewer, she said. She hopes people will stop by and appreciate it and glean what they can from it.

“It adds another approach to community art in the Wheeling area that does let more people participate and have a say,” she said. “I think it will make a lot of people think.”

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