Dear colleagues! Dear friends!
We hoped very much to meet with you in person at our congress and to share with you the most beautiful and special places of our city, unfortunately it takes longer to stop pandemic than we expected. Nevertheless as a jewel of our culture program we have prepared especialy for the congress participants a film about Saint Petersburg with some special places of special interest for the specialists in the field of mental health, namely connected with Dostoevsky and his books. We hope very much that very soon you will have the possibility to come and make this tour in person. The film will be shown directly after the opening ceremony and then you can use a Youtube link to watch a piece about the life of famous Mariinsky ballet during the quarantine.
On May 16 we would like to show you, using the Youtube link, one of the best Mariinsky ballet performances Don Quixote with unforgettable ballet dancers, those who had the experience of life spectacle would never forget it.
We hope you will enjoy the cultural program as much as scientific sessions, take care, stay healthy and we are looking forward meeting you at our next scientific events.
On May 18, the participants of the international congress of the World Psychiatric Association have a special opportunity to plunge into the world of Russian outsider art thanks to the fact that, as part of the Congress of Russian Psychiatrists, an exhibition of artworks by outsider artists, wards of the non-profit organization "Outsiderville", under the meaningful name "PodRamki" (“UnderFrames”), and also to see a special screening of an amazing documentary about the artists supervised by the "Outsiderville", released by the team of the international channel RT Documentary a month ago.
The event will begin with an online tour of the exhibition, led by the founder of the project Olga Fominikh, and will continue with a film screening.
About «UnderFrames» Exhibition
Despite the fact that outsider art in Russia takes an increasingly confident position in the context of contemporary art, there are still many myths, pseudoscientific interpretations and stigmatization around its representatives. Moreover, speculative interpretations are inherent not only to the unprepared public, but also to the professional environment: specialists in the field of psychiatry or art critics.
In this vein, we sorely lack both psychoeducational projects and pure art experiments. We do not seek to create a canonical image of an outsider artist and do not undertake to defend the purity of definitions - "Outsiderville" is at the very epicenter of a process of institutionalization of outsider art and socio-cultural life of artists who are not limited in thinking and fantasy, unable to be driven "under frameworks”, but facing many barriers due to mental disorders.
About «PsychiARTry» Film
The film by RTD’s Oleg Nekishev is about a group of painters and musicians struggling with mental health issues, ranging from anxiety and depression to schizophrenia. They have discovered the healing power of art, which sometimes is as effective as medication. Supported by Outsiderville, a charity that helps institutionalised persons and outpatients, they try to regain their emotional balance and get recognised for their unconventional work.
About «Outsiderville»
ANO "Outsiderville" (St. Petersburg, Russia), was organized in 2013 and actively helps people with mental disorders in their social rehabilitation with support for creative self-realization.
We support people with mental disorders in a difficult situation and in social rehabilitation through art therapy and creativity. We support outsider artists and introduce their artworks to the public. Our task is not only to provide vital support to the artists, but also to create an independent tool for material self-sufficiency by creativity: you have the opportunity to purchase paintings for the benefit of artists.
We cooperate with art studios and art therapists in psychiatric institutions, independent outsider artists, social and cultural organizations in Russia and abroad, hold projects and programs aimed at education about mental health, increase psychological culture, level of tolerance in society and make socio-cultural support for talented authors. Provide technical equipment, artistic and other materials, attract necessary resources. We support «independent» artists, hold events at all-Russian level: art exhibitions, festivals, master classes, lectures, art sessions, film screenings, etc...