The project consists of four separate yet closely connected parts.

PARALLEL WORLDS

Exhibition EMBODIMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL of artworks created by people with mental disorders realized in cooperation with the nonprofit organization Kolumbus is one of the link between all participating countries. Mental disorders and traumas are undoubtedly among the most serious obstacles to interpersonal communication, both for those suffering from the illness as well as those helplessly standing in front of an impermeable wall of silence. Anything that occasionally penetrates the wall is important for making contact. Making the contact is not only essential for the mentally ill, but it is also utterly inspiring as a vehicle for self-reflection for a person from the “outside”. For people with mental disorders, expressing themselves through art is one of the most worthwhile ways to get the message across the wall.

PARALLEL STORY

Interactive screening ON OUR OWN with the help of audiovisual stimulants, manages to give us an idea of how people suffering from schizophrenia feel and experience the world. During an approximately 7-minute-long screening in special screening box, a healthy person can identify with the world of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and see how it feels to be haunted, threatened, and to hear inner voices. Yet the film enables us to clarify only a fraction of what ill people go through every day. Parallel story is the second link between all participating countries.

PARALLEL PLACES

Offers a common open space – a place to encounter several rather parallel worlds, which unfortunately still exist in everyday life: the world of the mentally ill with the world of those who cure them or provide care and help for them and the rest of us who come across them every day without even knowing it. Sharing art and culture created in both worlds can be one of the most natural ways to start a mutual dialogue. The plentiful program includes concerts, theater and dance performances etc.

PARALLEL EXPERIENCE

This part of the project introduces a series of lectures meant for the general public. This way, the Parallel Experience opens a dialogue between the community of people with mental disorders, their families, professionals and the general public. At the end of each lecture there will be a time for a discussion between the audience and the lecturers. This way, the participants will have a unique opportunity to ask about things of interest to them, to clarify or even rethink their opinions.

www.parallelexperiences.eu