“When people hear the word schizophrenic they think danger, like, these cliffs are dangerous, but when I see these cliffs I see beauty,” reads a card in Bermuda Society of Arts exhibit.The card sits under two photographs in the MindFrame PhotoVoice exhibition at City Hall.One shows an ominous sign in front of a cliff, warning of danger; the other is of water and cliffs depicted in an attractive way.The photos were taken by Stefan Davis, one of several Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute clients whose art and photos form the exhibition. This was his first year taking part in the PhotoVoice programme at MWI that provides training in photography and field trips to take pictures at various locations around the Island. Mr Davis came up with the theme for this year’s exhibit, ‘There’s a Person in Here: Voices Against Stigma’.“As a young man growing up, there was always a lot of stigma about mental illness and being a part of the hospital,” he said. “When I went to the hospital it was a heart-wrenching thing for a lot of people who knew me. They felt I had a lot of potential and viewed me going to MWI as my life being over. So I thought this theme would be a good way to address that. Even though I have a mental illness, I still have potential and a future.”MWI clinical supervisor Morrisa Rogers said the idea behind the exhibition is to give an artistic outlet to clients and change the community’s perception of them.“Stigmas are out there,” she said. “This year’s theme specifically targets some of the thoughts out there about people with a mental illness. We really do this as a way for clients to advocate for themselves and put the information out there. They are just like anyone else. They have an illness and it just happens to be a mental illness.”The exhibition started six years ago in the lobby of MWI as part of Mental Health Awareness week. It was so popular that it was expanded to the BSoA the next year; the PhotoVoice section was added in 2008.This year’s exhibit has expanded to include jewellery and knitting as well as its traditional display of painting, drawing and photography. It is hoped that some of the clients taking part in the exhibition may become skilled enough to earn money and community respect through their work.The late Royal Gazette photographer Tamell Simons was a great supporter of the PhotoVoice portion of the art workshops, sharing his photography skills and knowledge with clients. Photos of him working with clients have been included in the exhibition. The People’s Choice Award has also been renamed in his honour.“Everyone was excited to take part in this,” said Mr Davis. “It was a lot of fun for all of us. I have been taking a lot of pictures on my own. I enjoyed going back to the area where I grew up in Warwick and taking pictures. I didn’t get a chance to draw anything for this exhibition, but I have five photos included. My favourite is probably a picture I took of the trees at the entrance to the Southlands property in Warwick. I hadn’t done any photography before, except once in a while I would snap a picture with a camera. I didn’t realise I was any good at it until my sister started looking at the pictures I took in PhotoVoice. She started telling me how good they were.”He looks for subjects that are both beautiful and eye-catching. One photo he took was of a hand partly obscuring the view at Albuoy’s Point in Hamilton. The attached comment card states: “My hand is like a false impression of what people assume individuals with a mental illness is really like, but it obscures what is really there.”Most of the work in the MindFrame PhotoVoice Exhibition is for sale. The photos were printed by Colourlab and framed by Frameworks, sponsors of the event.“Part of the proceeds go to the exhibit hall for the rental of the space, and we collect a small portion to recoup some of the costs,” said Mrs Rogers. “The proceeds after that go to the clients. They get really excited if they have sold something. We hope that encourages them.”The MindFrame part of the exhibition focuses on arts and crafts, much of which was created by participants in MWI’s Drop in Art group. MWI is always looking for more skilled photographers, crafts people, creative writers, artists and jewellery makers to help with their creative programmes.The exhibition runs until October 16.Useful website: www.bsoa.bm.