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Join Big Talk and Santa Monica’s Art of Recovery Program in Planting Seeds of Hope for May’s Mental Health Awareness Month!
Big Talk will host pop-ups at various events throughout the city with an interactive art installation for passersby to stop by, write messages of hope, and make more meaningful and delightful community connections!
1. May 11th: Mental Health / Wellness Fair at Grand Park in Downtown LA from 10 am – 2 pm
2. May 14th: Mental Health Proclamation at Santa Monica City Hall at 4:30 pm
3. May 18th: Pop-up at 18th Street Arts Center at Santa Monica Airport from 1 pm – 3 pm and Pop-up from 3:30-6 pm at Bergamot Station.
4. May 19th: Pop-up for Kidical Mass (Family Friendly) at Cloverpark from 9 am – 12 pm
This project was made possible by Art of Recovery, an initiative of the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs.
Description:
City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs’ Art of Recovery Initiative is partnering with the Housing and Human Services Department, Equity and Inclusion Office and Asian American Pacific Islander City Staff Affinity Group to offer five new temporary public art projects this May 2024. These Art of Recovery projects with Kalina Silverman, LA Freewaves, Second Day Studio’s Jacqueline Kim, bG Gallery and the Coalition of Asian and Pacific Employees of Santa Monica are honoring Mental Health Awareness Month and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Kalina Silverman: Big Talk – Skip the small talk and make Big Talk (@makebigtalk / makebigtalk.com) with an interactive art installation for passersby to stop by and participate to make more meaningful and delightful community connections!
Big Talk (makebigtalk.com), which began as a video project in 2014 in Santa Monica by artist Kalina Silverman, is a global movement for skipping small talk to make more meaningful connections. Big Talk includes a viral Instagram video series (instagram.com/makebigtalk), events all over the world, and a question card game and app. Big Talk’s mission is to fight modern-day loneliness and social isolation, facilitate community belonging, and build empathy through the power of storytelling about our shared human experiences.
Big Talk participated in the Art of Recovery Initiative in conjunction with the Housing and Human Services Department and their May 2023 Mental Health Awareness Month events. Big Talk appeared at three City-run events to initiate an icebreaker and film interviews with attendees answering questions such as “What does your dream community look like?” and “What was the darkest time of your life and how did you get through it?” At the events, new community connections were made, and online, one of the videos filmed led to over one million views, sparking meaningful dialogue about mental health and resiliency.
For the May 2024 Mental Health Awareness Month, Big Talk will build a mobile interactive experience for multiple locations in Santa Monica such as farmers markets, parks, Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica Pier. Big Talk will participate in the May 14 City Council proclamation to celebrate the month and make a City Hall Lobby installation. These interactive experiences will lead to media production shared through the City’s media channels as well as Big Talk’s. This Art of Recovery Project will serve as a meaningful and delightful way to encourage dialogue, self-discovery, and belonging within the local community.