For many, art is not just a creative outlet but also a means of self-expression and reflection. Whether it be painting, music or whatever the creator chooses, art allows artists to show how they see the world. Located at 434 W. Union St., the Athens Photo Project brings together photography and mental health support.
Founded in 2000 as an extension of the National Alliance on Mental Health Athens, APP provides photography classes for those with mental health struggles to get peer support from one another. Nate Thomson, the executive director of APP, said for many of APP’s artists, photos are how they share their experiences.
“The arts are a medium and a way to be together,” he said. “We learn to express ourselves, we go out, we create photographs, we build skills as artists and photographers, and what's really important is we're able to share our lives with other people through taking photographs.”
By providing classes and cameras free of charge to participants, APP is working to reduce barriers to the arts. Classes are done on a semester basis and meet one to two times per week, following a similar structure to a college-level photography class.
Thomson, who graduated from Ohio University with a degree in photojournalism in 2002, said teaching the technical skills of photography lets artists better express their ideas.
“Photography is a really important medium for us because it really allows someone to start valuing their life and reconnecting with the world through the camera,” he said.
Recovery Reframed, an offshoot project of APP, works in underserved communities in Southeast Ohio and West Virginia. The project works to take portraits of those at least a year in recovery from substance abuse.
Fischer Wallace, the director of community engagement with APP and lead of Recovery Reframed, said reducing stigma around recovery can best be done through portraits.
“Substance abuse is affecting all of us, and we can talk about it, and we can talk about how so and so is recovered, and we can talk about the past,” Wallace said. “But there are few things more powerful than a portrait of someone that you know has been in addiction and is turning themselves around and has found a path.”
The project is run by APP artists, who take portraits of people in recovery holding a frame. The subjects then write their stories around them. Recovery Reframed has now worked in nine counties across Ohio and West Virginia.
Z Carroll, an APP artist and Recovery Reframed production member, said she is grateful for the opportunities APP has given her and others.
“The Athens Photo Project has been life-changing,” Carroll wrote in an email. “The sense of purpose, belonging, and connection I experience is invaluable. Being part of a peer-run organization where members share similar experiences and feel supported in an environment of mutual understanding and acceptance has fostered growth and self-respect for me.”
A display of artists' works can be found outside the Athens City Parking Garage at 15 E. Washington St. and on APP’s website.
A referral from a clinician is required to join. Those interested in joining a class with APP should contact Director of Education Lacy Davis at lacy@athensphotoproject.org.
Wallace said in her career, the work she has done with APP and Recovery Reframed has been the most impactful to her.
“I have worked in mental health communities, I have worked in unhoused communities and I have worked in substance abuse disorder communities,” she said. “And I have never seen stories of recovery like I have in this place.”
