ADDRESS

5980 W Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90035

MISSION

Painted Brain creates lasting community-based solutions to mental health challenges and the impact of social injustice through arts, advocacy, and enterprise.

OUR COMMUNITY

Painted Brain denies the common distinction between mental health and mental illness.  Many of the contributors to Painted Brain live with mental illnesses like depression and anxiety, challenges that impact as many as 1 in 5 people.  People living with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, (formerly manic depression) are also found in great abundance in our midst.  Painted Brain is a place for people with mental illness to demonstrate our mental health through action and through the arts.  You don’t have to be mentally ill to find mental health, but it might just give us the leg up.  As Krishnamurti famously writes, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

Painted Brain community has been going strong for more than a decade.   The first-of-its-kind amalgam of mental health professionals and people living with mental health challenges, our community represents a cutting-edge response to America’s mental health crisis.  Art and media are the tools with which we build this community.  Creating a message about mental health is what brings us all together.  The arts help people interact socially and effectively in all situations, but are especially valuable for people experiencing the impacts of trauma, psychosis, depression, autism, anxiety and other unwanted mental experiences. Art activities create dialogue and connection.  We have been active in this conversation for over ten years and we have only just begun to reach our potential. View More

COMMUNITY CENTER

Painted Brain community center is a place to feel safe being who you are, make real what you imagine, and find connection and recovery through peer support. Members and visitors are invited to join our art and education groups and also welcomed and encouraged to work on individual projects. We have computers, art supplies, instruments, and random stuff for projects of all kinds. Recruit people to collaborate on bigger projects and find musicians to jam with. The arts offer social and personal development through increased perception, sensitivity, insight, and curiosity. We believe that when there aren’t a lot of rules, people take more personal responsibility for their actions. Just come on in anytime we’re open and check us out.View More

Address: 5980 W Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90035

SERVICES

OUR VOICE

Since the first issue of Painted Brain Magazine in 2006, our voice has defined our mission. Society will change when the millions of people living with mental illness are no longer represented by our worst examples but instead by our humanity and integrity.  Painted Brain always portrays an honest, positive voice about living with mental illness.  We directly challenge the negative attitudes and language that limits our conversations about this difficult topic. When mental health symptoms are unleashed by the superhuman powers that they actually represent, the insanity infecting this world will transform to an appreciation of our inherent differences. If you are interested in getting involved or would like to contribute as an artist, photographer, writer, or voice to our project, click here. Painted Brain is in need of volunteers as we rely on our community support to make the change. We’ve had more than a thousand volunteers in our course of running. Our magazine production stopped in 2012 as we decided to convert the cost of printing into an opportunity for job creation. We would love to revive this project in print. If you are interested in bringing back the magazine, contact us at hello@paintedbrain.org.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING