Emerging Artist

Jo Banooni

This exhibition is a selection of art and writing inspired by my upcoming book Three Little Letters: Exploring my BPD Through Poetry, a collection of poems, short stories and real-life anecdotes about my personal experience with a borderline personality disorder diagnosis. When I received my diagnosis at 17, I wasn’t sure what that meant. But through self-discovery, therapy, and art I have learned to flourish with a diagnosis that is stigmatized by so many people.

I’ve always been drawn to the creative arts as a way to express myself when the spoken word has failed. I’ve been an artist my whole life. I began performing on stage at the age of six, I messed up my mom’s shag carpet with glitter glue while making greeting cards as a child, and my love for the arts carried into my teenage years, which is when I began writing and performing spoken word.

I realized that poetry makes me feel… strong. Poetry has this effect on me that fantasy and fiction never did. So down I fell into Alice’s rabbit hole of writing, trying to find my voice, my niche, my sound. It wasn’t until I wrote Three Little Letters, the title poem for my book, that I found those things. Writing about my struggles with mental health, specifically borderline personality disorder (BPD) was my own small, special corner that felt like home, and while writing these poems, I was inspired to illustrate visual imagery that complimented each page. That is what led to the creation of art that you see before you.

– Jo Banooni – author and artist (they, them, theirs)

Learn more at
https://northvillearthouse.org/exhibitions/emergingartist/

Now through December 15

The 2024 season held is in partnership with the Gesher Human Services Creative Expressions Program.