Our History
Painted Brain was initially founded in 2005 by Dave Leon as a community-based art group at a mental health center in Los Angeles.
At the time, Painted Brain was not an organization and did not have an official name; it was just a community-based project.
The whole project started as a simple solution to a complex problem:
How do you build a community around a challenge like mental illness?
Dave’s answer was to use art to spark socialization and friendships between individuals with mental health challenges.
The group produced poetry, cartoons, paintings, and drawings, all of which created a tight-knit community and reduced the stigma around their lived experiences.Â
About a year later, in 2006, the group members decided to compile their art into a magazine, and they went on to publish multiple issues. The magazine name? The Painted Brain.Â
The Community Center Opens!
In 2016, the Co-Founders incorporated Painted Brain as 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
In 2017, Painted Brain opened its first drop-in Community Center in Mid City, Los Angeles.
The Center provides community members with a safe, judgment-free space off the street, and brings in actors, artists, writers, yoga instructors, mental health advocates, and more, to lead activities and classes on the arts, life-skills, and professional revision. In 2024, the organization relocated the Center to 3350 W 1st in Westlake, Los Angeles.
New Location!!
In 2024, the organization relocated the Center to:
3350 W 1st in Westlake, Los Angeles.