Timed to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month, the first three You Are Not Alone murals surfaced across New York City in May, 2019. And this past month, the project has gone global with 14 new murals — seven in NYC, two in Texas, and one each in New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Brazil and India. Each of the artists interpreted the message, You Are Not Alone, in a distinct visual style using a color palette of black, white, grey and yellow.
Conceived and curated by designer, illustrator and muralist Annica Lydenberg aka Dirty Bandits and Samantha Schutz, mental health advocate and acclaimed author of the anxiety disorder memoir, I Don’t Want to Be Crazy, this timely project reminds us that we are all connected through our common humanity and, therefore, never alone. The mural featured above was painted by the award-winning, Brooklyn-based artist and designer Jason Naylor earlier this month in Bushwick. Several more images of murals that have recently surfaced near and far follow:
Brooklyn-based product designer and visual artist Adam Fu in the Bronx
Brooklyn-based creative director, designer and muralist Dirty Bandits in Chinatown, NYC
NJ-based designer and calligrapher Rodney Ibarra aka Jexpo76 in Hammonton, NJ
Texas-based graffiti artists and designers Laced and Found in Austin, Texas
Brazilian designer and visual artist Cristina Pagnoncelli in Curitiba, Brazil
And do remember, “You are not alone!” If you or someone you care about is in need of support or information, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The NAMI HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m., ET. 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)
All photos courtesy You Are Not Alone; photo credit for third mural — just a spectator