By 
Alice Mulombe-Muyambo, a Zambian visual artist, has launched “I am without a face campaign” to advocate for mental health issues in the country through art.
The campaign centers on art therapy with the use of colors to promote mental health issues in the communities.
Mulombe-Muyambo explained in an interview with Zambia Monitor that she has always wanted to discuss mental health issues but from an artistic point of view.
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“I use art as a tool to advocate for mental health because it allows me to communicate to the next person in a way that they can better understand what mental health means,” she said.
Through her book titled “Free your mind, free yourself”, Mulombe-Muyambo stated that it is an art therapy coloring book for teenagers and adults.
She said it was a tool that was used to introduce conversations on mental health awareness in schools, communities and business environment as well as to individuals.
Mulombe-Muyambo said she would create space for her audience to try and eliminate any form of stigma around mental health illness.
“Art also allows me to create safe spaces with my audiences, the main goal here is to stop any stigma that surrounds mental illnesses and normalise the conversations and with the use of art, it has made it possible for me and more people that I have interacted with, open up in the process as a result,” she said.
Mulombe-Muyambo indicated that being consistent in matters of mental health have a greater positive impact in the way the theme is perceived and approached within society as time goes by.
“The positive impact on mental health projects is that once we normalise such a topic, we are opening ourselves and this will no longer be stigmatized, a society is made of people and we need to be intentional in our actions, the more people feel safe to discuss how they are feeling, we will have a society of young and elderly people,” she said.
Contributed by Harbguy Mwambazi
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