What does it mean to you?

Below are responses shared by 2022 exhibitors, visitors and planners.

This Exhibition provided me a space to celebrate equality and diversity, something sadly that is still terribly lacking. As part of the LGBQT+ community I know over the years I have been subject to homophobia excluded called names even physically abused, this at times leaving me feeling suicidal art has created a space for me to share what I feel is important, OOSOOM created a place for me to exhibit my art to help support others. Mental health awareness suicide prevention, disability awareness but most of all #muchlovepeaceandhappiness #stardustartbystardust
Thanks to all involved and all exhibitors I appreciate you all.

Validation of the value of diversity in human experiences. Great exhibition, with great and diverse works. Thanks to all.

The shit I’ve struggled with means that I strive for beauty, and art and design do that for me. Exhibitions are invaluable, especially free ones, for people and their sense of beauty in life.

It is an essential fixture of my year. Engaging, empowering, connecting, healing, enabling me to express emotions and feelings in art that can`t always be vocalised.

We might not need to meet before as we're in the same sky fall.

I’m seen; therefore, I exist!

Loved it.

Light and dark.
The story of escape.
A community.
A pleasure.
Thank you.

Echoing the many comments on how excellent the curation of this exhibition is!

This exhibition provided me a space to celebrate equality and diversity, something sadly that is still terribly lacking. As part of the LGBQT+ community I know over the years I have been subject to homophobia, excluded, called names, even physically abused, this at times leaving me feeling suicidal. Art has created a space for me to share what I feel is important, OOSOOM created a place for me to exhibit my art to help support others. Mental health awareness, suicide prevention, disability awareness, but most of all #muchlovepeaceandhappiness #stardustartbystardust
Thanks to all involved and all exhibitors, I appreciate you all.

This was the first-time people from The Brock contributed to the exhibition, and the impact on the individuals cannot be underestimated! There is a visual improvement in people's confidence and social interactions - just because they feel valued as their work of art was displayed.

At The Brock we work with the principle that every day people should leave with a bigger smile than they came in with in the morning; you have caused the biggest smiles this month!

Thank you, and please continue.

It is always interesting to come and look at the artwork people do - it is inspirational!!!

Having my pet cat Isla in an art gallery and how she helps me and my mental health.

This exhibition saves lives!

Everything… this gallery especially is where I’ve poured my heart, soul, and creative energy. My hope was to help the Planning Group bring this incredible story, that’s been evolving for the last ten years, together. I’ve had moments to reflect on the next ten years and all the possibilities of how the next chapter will unfold what I’ve come to deeply value Is the heart of this exhibition, which are its people, communities and the voices of those with lived experiences of mental health. This has meant the world to me. To be a part of OOSOOM 2022 has been everything. <3

Inspiring but sad that there are so many mental illnesses out there. Never give up. Always reach out. Hope!

Connecting and creating meaning out of the gloom.

Recognisable.

I am so incredibly grateful to have come across and been part of this exhibition from CAPS staff to planning group volunteers, exhibitors, and visitors - there is such a warm, welcoming community here! So happy to be part of that and look forward to continuing to be, in years to come <3. Big thank you to everyone involved. :)

I just wanted to say how lovely it was to be included in the exhibition. Everything was so well organised and flexible and friendly - I'm really pleased I took part. The exhibition itself was amazing too (in Summerhall and still online) - it is such great work and so varied. Thanks to everyone involved for all their hard work and high standards (in everything - art care and people care). It is greatly appreciated.

Thank you! I hope to be able to take part in the next ones - Exhibitor 2021-2022

First time with Out of Sight, absolutely awesome. The caliber of art was outstanding. Would love to take part again. Thank you.

I am a visitor with a background in psychology. Thanks to these works I entered a point of the authors life. Some of it is shocking, some of it is healing. Psychological problems are becoming more and more common in our daily life. We may all have a difficult time, but please get mental energy from yourself or those around you to stay healthy and happy! :)

Feeling seen. <3

Thanks to all artists for share their minds and feelings.

I was pleasantly surprised by the exhibition; I can feel the artists through these works of art and find empathy. Thanks for holding this exhibition.

Lost in thought!

This exhibition is INCREDIBLE crying at the pieces here people being so open, honest, and vulnerable, so REAL. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. <3 <3 <3

Connecting and creating meaning out of the gloom.

To get out your feelings in order to free yourself, leave it there, don’t carry it!

It means family. Being together, feeling an affinity to others I couldn't otherwise express.

I am impressed for the talent of the people who exhibited their works.

Love, peace and happiness.

We have ALL been there! I’m in a better place - thanks to faith.

We’re in this together. Sharing = Caring.

Some of the artworks made me feel like I stepped away from myself and look at things/myself/my life from a friendly distance. ‘Friendly’ as in not triggering or traumatising, but more like a way to make sense of stuff. I thank those who poured their hearts out and created such beautiful artworks. Bravo to you, to the visitors, to the organisers and to myself. We are still here and still going!

Brilliant so creative F*** up minds R.

Another scream into the void. Expressions of the unbearably compassionate.

Feel warm.

Thanks to all artists for sharing their minds and feelings.

Coming out of the Darkness! Feeling the light.

Light brought to darkness.

I am impressed for the talent of people who exhibited their works.

(To exhibitor) Your art-book is poignant, powerful and a sign of your strength.

Her mother’s words. We could all add some?

Creativity.

Individuality.

Sensibility.

The force behind the power.

Insightful.

Emotional.

The exhibition brings together a feeling that it’s not hopeless and I'm not alone.

I felt connected. Thank you.

The power of music....

We love it! Well done everyone :)

A lot of powerful, visceral imagery. Difficult but necessary.

Thank you.

Incredibly moving and inspiring.

Please continue sharing your stories and art.

<3 x

I love life!

Love.

Never be negative.

Actually, DO be negative...sometimes healing and beauty come from that dark place you still avoid! Be brave, be you, you got this!

Feeling wholesome-ness. Aware of my presence on planet earth.

I enjoyed the colour in the pictures, a lot of them were very nice.

There's a meaning to our mental health love that everything open to interpretation!

Gives people hope going forward.

Very inspiring to see so much expression in art about mental health. I am inspired by all the artwork here and hope to contribute my art next year. So heartwarming and special.

Freedom.

Beautifully displayed! Very emotional to see every artist’s voice in their artwork. Great bunch of talents.

Such an honor just to be here. Inspired, relieved, pacified. I feel seen and I feel calm.

Knowing that I am not alone, we are not alone. Seeing the individually displayed artworks creating a powerful voice and bringing together a sense of community.

Somewhere to share.

Breaking down stigma and barriers of mental health through art, freedom to express yourself.

I enjoyed seeing everyone's own personal experience expressed via an art medium. - when words cannot express how you feel.

Express myself an see me people (crazy people) express their talent.

The breadth of openness in the artworks is spellbinding, with an added dimension of beauty provided by the poetic descriptions. A truly amazing exhibition.

Makes humans feel like humans.

It’s a lovely chance to see and experience what a wide range of people create and share when given space and encouragement just to ‘express’

Inspiring to see so many creative people.

Artwork is therapeutic.

The shit I've struggled with, means that I strive for beauty and art & design do that for me. Exhibitions are valuable, especially free ones, for people and their sense of beauty in life.

Thought provoking.

Really amazing to enjoy these works in such rich diversity. Thanks, and best wishes.

Freedom.

It meant giving people the opportunity to feel seen and engage with struggles both familiar and alien to them.

Great gallery. Well put together. Congratulations to everyone involved.

It’s an exhibition I come to every time it is produced - and thank all those who share something of their lives with us. Great admiration!

Beauty in manifold and diverse forms.

I am a student and I came from China. Actually, it's my first time to visit this type of exhibition. I used to suffer from delusions of nihilism. I cannot tell the difference between the real and the virtual. I think all of the world is a dream.

My first exhibition. Eye opening.

Lost in thought!

My first look at this exhibition. It’s nice to know that people come out of the darkness but I myself can’t escape. Love XXX

Life is struggling, keep going… Thanks.

Dream big ... Even bigger.

Dream massive.

Never give up.

We are no longer out of sight.

We are here and will be visible for many more years.

Amazing exhibit. Mental health and illness affect us all. Thanks for sharing and sparking connection.

Powerful!!! More, more, more.

Light and dark.

The story of escape.

A community.

A pleasure.

Thanks.

It gives me a reason to keep going.

Feeling seen.

I was pleasantly surprised by the exhibition. I can feel the artist through these works of art and find empathy. Thanks for holding this exhibition.

Visiting playwright who writes a lot about my own trauma, the work here speaks so loudly.

Thank you! I hope to be able to take part in the next ones. Exhibitor 2021 + 2022.

Loved it.

Beauty in manifold and diverse forms.

Life is struggling keep going... Thanks.

Art helps me to express my thoughts and share them, to encourage others.

We're in this together. Sharing = caring.

Such a lot to take in...

A lot of beautiful things to see as well as a lot of uncomfortable things.

Such creativity.

So much to get across to others. A great opportunity!

Thought provoking.

The saying goes treat others the way you would like to be treated. Kindness goes a long way.

Wonderful.

Even as I write this, I am hiding.
This exhibition resonates with me like no other. It connects me to the power and strength of my past and things I can’t explain to other people.
I cannot be true to myself and my reality because it is unbearable.
I cannot live like that, I have to pretend it is not there. The medication makes me functional. It makes me normal. It stops me thinking. It makes me shallow, superficial, gliding over the surface. I cannot explain my past without feeling like a fraud.
This exhibition is like therapy for me. It reminds me of these things but in a way that I can draw strength from. The things I usually shut out for fear of being dragged back down into the spiral of doom when I was most ill, I was most creative. I saw things in different ways. I felt the need to express myself in a way that I couldn’t capture in words. I wish I could have had the space and energy to nurture that, but I had to keep pretending to be okay. I couldn’t let myself rest or be self-indulgent as I saw it.

An immensely beautiful exhibition each piece was so incredibly evocative and heart wrenching filled with so much gratitude and appreciation for all these beautiful people sharing themselves with us. I’ve got chills, I felt moved and also love. You gain insight into beautiful people.

We feel and we are felt.

An insight to out of sight out of mind individual unique expressions thought-provoking glimpse into the inner feelings and emotions.

So much variety in the work. Lovely to see people to express themselves in many different ways.

What does, shall and will help those that create it.

Wonderful talent, the freedom to express emotion.

Mental health ain’t black and white.

Do people actually realise we are people too, talented and creative!

Inspirational.

So much talent pity it took pain to be so creative.

Everything and nothing.

Very powerful and poignant. Well-done artists.

Don’t feel pressured into doing something that someone else wants you to do. You have a mind of your own.

Just wonderful, amazing, special.

Inspired by the creativity, especially the fabric zine.

It is always interesting to come and look at artwork people do. It is inspirational.

A powerful and thought-provoking exhibition of how art truly helps people.

We are no longer out of sight, we are here and we will be visible for many more years.

Really beautiful to see so many different perspectives displayed and thoughts that resonate with my experience.

Freedom of expression. A loving community of misfits.

Reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and celebrating creative art from lots of diverse voices and perspectives that invoke all kinds of emotional responses.

How we are all individuals with unique experiences. But to share a common thread. Makes me want to strive for a better collective future.

Hope, creativity, talent.

Great to have the artist here to tell you.

Enjoyed the exhibition immensely.

Really enjoyed the exhibition. It was a real celebration of talent.

Supporting family.

Feeling not alone in my mental health.

Thank you to those who depicted something familiar and let me feel seen and not alone. Thank you to those who let me understand what I didn’t before. A wonderful exhibition!

Being able to show my art in an art gallery without any unicorn applications especially as I am new. I am neurodivergent and have mental health issues.

I find it empowering to have a space to express myself without judgement.

Boggle the normal.

I’m so inspired by the creativity that’s been expressed and some people’s challenges

An inspirational exhibition full of positive energy and hope! Deeply moving!

Absent creative friends missed.

Amazing exhibition. Mental health and illness affect us all. Thanks for sharing and sparking connection.

Really amazing to enjoy these works in such rich diversity.

What an eye-opening honest emotional and powerful exhibition, thank you.

Great gallery. Well put together. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Even when we might be trapped in our bodies sometimes our minds can be free.

Always a joy to assist my employer with creating her art, but a real pleasure to see it exhibited here and amidst all these powerful works.

Be happy. Remove stigma.