New Exhibit Brings Addiction into the Light

The Oklahoma Center for the Humanities’ newest exhibition, the Into Light Project’s Oklahoma Exhibition Drug Addiction: Real People, Real Stories, will open Friday, October 4. The exhibit remembers the lives of 30 Oklahomans who have lost their lives as a result of substance abuse. It pairs an original graphite portrait with a narrative of their lives. The Oklahomans featured come from different walks of life. One is as young as 18 years old.

According to its official site, the Into Light Project “is a national art activism project that seeks to dismantle the stigma surrounding the disease of addiction and to address the misconception that people with addiction are to blame for their illness.” A four-pronged approach composes their ultimate vision: exhibition organization and curation, humanizing substance use disorders, education, and changing discourse about addiction.

“Every human being has light and dark sides to their personality,” says founder Theresa Clower. “We should not be defined only by one part of our lives, or one facet of ourselves. The goal of the INTO LIGHT Project is to depict those who have died from drug addiction, poisoning, or overdose, as the people they were in their entirety, realizing that their addiction and cause of death was only one aspect of their personality.”

Into Light fits seamlessly into this year’s SPACE theme. Since each exhibit of Drug Addiction: Real People, Real Stories works with local artists and families, the Project stimulates discussions about a region’s mental health and rehabilitation resources, drug policies, and drug enforcement protocols. While addiction itself is not confined by state or national borders, the conversations it starts require us to grapple with the particularities of Tulsa’s drug policies and local public opinion.

For more information about our exhibits and events, bookmark our homepage at humanities.test.utulsa.edu or follow us on social media.