August 22 – November 12, 2022
Michael Coppage & Lauren Pond, curators
Miller Gallery, 33 Collegeview Road, Westerville, OH
Public Reception: Friday, September 2, 2021; 5 – 7p

Featured artists: Michael Coppage, Taylor Gaston Davis, Asa FeatherstoneIV, Dr. Tia Sherèea Gaynor, Pepper, Benjamin Pierce, Gaye Reissland, Vitus Shell, April Sunami, Laurie VanBalen, Asha White, and Donte Woods-Spikes.

Coping Mechanisms debuted in July 2021 as America was beginning to reckon with its systemic racism, something that had become especially blatant with the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the devastating, disproportionate toll of the coronavirus pandemic. This reckoning—and these disparities—continue, highlighting not only the stressors and inequities that regularly cause distress, poor health, and vulnerability in communities of color, but to racism as its own pandemic: one that impacts mental, and in turn physical, well-being. In this second installment of Coping Mechanisms, 12 artists use diverse mediums to explore the impact of racism on mental health on a personal, human level. Their work also invites visitors to engage with these sources of mental duress and begin the work of dismantling them.

This exhibition was curated in conjunction with Southeast Healthcare’s Fresh A.I.R. Gallery, which supports artists in recovery.