WINSTON-SALEM – A multimedia art exhibit and performance showcasing the stories of people who are overcoming emotional suffering and transcending labels of psychiatric diagnosis – or simply “being different” – will be presented April 8-15 at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA).

The exhibit, titled “Unbound: Celebrating Emotional Liberation,” celebrates narratives of emotional diversity and transcendence. “Unbound” will feature work from the UNCSA and Winston-Salem community – from visual art to performance art to film to written work.

“Psychiatric labeling and other forms of social labeling can be oppressive to some,” says Tom Murray, Ph.D., director of UNCSA’s Counseling and Testing Services. “Artists often have been marginalized for their differences, how they look, how they experience and express emotion, and as a consequence have had negative experiences within the mental health system. We wanted to create a venue for UNCSA students and the Winston-Salem community at large to interact experientially with those who have transcended these labels.”

“Unbound” will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, with opening night performances in Eisenberg Social Hall in the Hanes Student Commons at UNCSA, 1533 South Main St., Winston-Salem. The exhibit will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 9-15, in Eisenberg Social Hall. Admission is free and open to the community.

“UNBOUND: Celebrating Emotional Liberation” is a joint effort by UNCSA’s Counseling and Testing Services and Division of Student Life.

“Unbound” will also be hosting a special presentation of art and essays reflecting the lives of children in the Triad’s foster care program, provided by Foster Friends of North Carolina, Inc.  

For more information, and a full calendar of “Unbound” events, contact Gwen Frisbie-Fulton at 336-631-1223, or visit UNBOUND on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=350261308550&v=info.

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established as the North Carolina School of the Arts by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, UNCSA opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. More than 1,100 students from high school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. UNCSA is the state’s only public arts conservatory, dedicated entirely to the professional training of talented students in the performing, visual and moving image arts. UNCSA is located at 1533 S. Main St., Winston-Salem. For more information, visit www.uncsa.edu.                                                                          

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