Five Chairs, One Question: Cathedral and Jasper Arts invite community to look beyond mental illness

Five ordinary chairs will invite visitors to pause and consider an extraordinary question during Mental Illness Awareness Week, October 4–10.

Presented by Cathedral Health Care Center in partnership with Jasper Arts, The Five Chairs Project is a simple installation with a message: you cannot tell whether someone lives with mental illness by looking at them. The chairs ask viewers to consider how quickly we make assumptions about the people around us, and what might change if we led with understanding instead.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than one in five U.S. adults experiences mental illness each year. The installation turns that statistic into a moment of reflection without asking anyone to share a diagnosis or personal story.

“At Cathedral, we know a diagnosis is never the whole person,” said April Jones, Director of Admissions and Marketing. “We hope these five chairs encourage people to see their neighbors, coworkers and loved ones with a little more curiosity and compassion.”

The Five Chairs Project’s first official day on display will coincide with the First Thursdays Opening Gallery Reception on Thursday, October 1, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Jasper Arts Center inside the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, 100 Third Avenue in Jasper. The free monthly reception invites the community to explore new exhibitions and featured artists, providing a fitting setting for the installation’s message.

The Five Chairs Project will be on display at The Jasper Art Center from October 1st through October 10th. Visitors are welcome to stop by during venue hours.

For general mental health information and support, contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-6264 or text NAMI to 62640.