The 23rd Annual Child & Adolescent Mental Health Conference featured Pop-Up Art Exhibits.  

“What Do You See?” was an exhibit of photographs by Wing Young Huie, artist and MACMH keynote presenter. This exhibit highlighted some of his many projects spanning 40 years, including photos from his most recent book, “Chinese-ness: The Meanings of Identity and the Nature of Belonging,” where he explores personal questions such as: “What am I?” “How does my Chinese-ness collide with my Minnesota-ness and my American-ness? And who gets to define those abstract hyphenated nouns?” 

“Humanize My Hoodie” was a traveling art exhibition curated by André Wright & Jason Sole. It spurred important conversations about society’s perception of the hoodie, aiming to destigmatize clothing trends associated with people of color, including youth. Simply put: if you are black and you are wearing a hoodie, you are considered a threat. This exhibit shared and lifted the stories of various individuals and highlighted them with powerful quotes from Civil Rights leaders. It served as a healing space that encouraged open dialogue on the treatment of people of color when they wear hoodies. 

In addition to Huie’s keynote, MACMH also hosted co-keynote presenters Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Timothy Culbert, who shared “Where Science Meets the Soul: Future Trends in Natural Mental Health.” They explored stress-related disorders, including anxiety and depression, and discussed why the prevalence of these is so high, especially among children.