Photography by Ariel Skovera
In Spring 2023, the Center for Creativity partnered with the Year of Emotional Well-Being to bring the I'm fine. project to Pitt. This statewide community initiative is dedicated to sculpting mental health awareness, conversations, and support through art.Initiated by co-curators Carrie Breschi and Maureen Joyce in 2019, I’m fine. consists of a series of workshops in which participants create ceramic masks that represent the ones we wear to portray, hide, or minimize emotions and mental health challenges. The workshops culminate with a series of public art installations and gallery exhibits in each community. I’m fine. participants have made over 1,300 masks so far.
At workshops at C4C: The Understory in January and February 2023, Pitt students, faculty, and staff created masks to tell their stories. Participants were then invited to sit for a session with photographer Ariel Skovera. The result was an affecting mixed-media installation including a selection of the ceramic masks themselves, photos, and text from some of the creators' stories.
Following the campus exhibition, the I'm fine. curators collected the masks, which will be displayed as part of a larger installation scheduled for 2024. The photos will become part of a permanent gallery in the new Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.