A new art exhibition in Barrie is bringing the conversation around mental health to the forefront - through collaboration, community, and creative expression.
“TWOgether,” a month-long exhibit at Spare Room Gallery, features a unique partnership between emerging and established artists from across Simcoe County. The show, curated by Sean William Dawson and Katie Green, explores mental health through a series of collaborative works created specifically for Mental Health Awareness Month.
Dawson told Barrie 360 the inspiration behind the exhibition is deeply personal. “A couple of years ago, I had an art exhibit, I lost both my parents and my little brother within eight years of each other,” he said. “And that, for a time, had its effects on my mental health and also my family.”
The experience led Dawson to look for new ways to raise awareness - this time by inviting others into the process.
“The fact is that in mental health, you always work with somebody. You're either the one helping the person or the person's helping you. And a lot of times it switches around, too.”
Listen below to our interview with Sean. It begins at the 9:29 mark.
The exhibit pairs 12 emerging artists with 10 established names, asking them to work together on pieces centred on mental health. Some collaborations take the form of diptychs - two individual works that combine to tell a single story - while others resulted in unified creations.
Beyond the gallery walls, the project also includes a limited-edition art catalogue. Only 200 copies have been produced, each signed by all participating artists.
“100% of the sales… goes to CMHA to help out the mental health side of their industry,” Dawson said.
The catalogue also incorporates a musical element, featuring two synchronized tracks designed to be played simultaneously - extending the exhibit’s immersive and collaborative theme into sound.
Community interest in the project has been strong, with artists eager to participate. Dawson noted that organizing such a large group came with its own challenges, likening it to “trying to wrangle in 100 puppies at some time.”
Still, he emphasizes the collaborative nature of the exhibit reflects the core message behind it.
“Just like mental health, I had other people helping me.”
The exhibition also coincides with a panel discussion series called Start Making Sense, exploring topics such as taking breaks in one’s career - something Dawson says needs to be normalized.
“For a long time, if you took a break in your career, it was almost like a career suicide,” he said. “And nowadays, I think we need to normalize it's okay to take a break, because you'll get back at it when you're mentally ready to do it.”
While conversations around mental health have become more common in recent years, Dawson believes there is still work to do.
“It wasn't something that people really talked about…people would say, oh, just get over it. And now people are talking about it more, but can you ever talk about it enough?”
TWOgether is at Spare Room Gallery, located at 12 Lakeshore Drive in Barrie. A public reception and catalogue launch is scheduled for Friday, May 22 from 6 to 8 p.m.
For Dawson, the message is simple but vital: “We're all touched somehow by mental health…it's everywhere.”
