How artists face unique mental-health challenges, and what P.E.I. is doing about it

You've spent days, weeks, maybe even months on a piece of art and it's finally finished.

It's beautiful! 

Or is it? 

Will anybody like it? More importantly, will anybody buy it? You need the money. What should you charge? You know what it's worth, but do they?

The life of an artist is full of highs and lows, and a recent survey by Creative P.E.I. suggests the Island is not immune to the toll it can take on mental health. 

The survey last fall that included 91 respondents over a three-month period, showed almost 80 per cent said poor mental health has negatively impacted them.

The biggest cause of stress was financial insecurity — and that money issues have made them start to lose or lose enjoyment in their work. 

Other stressors included a lack of a support network or appropriate medical care.

Mark Sandiford, executive director of Creative P.E.I. — the sector council that works on behalf of P.E.I.'s arts, culture and creative professionals — said the mental-health challenges are often compounded for artists because of precarious income and the vulnerability that comes with expressing themselves publicly.

"The thing that's unique about the mental health picture in arts and culture is not so much that the mental health challenges are any different, the thing is it's hard to find people who can help you with those problems who are familiar with what the reality of life in arts and culture is."

Creative P.E.I. is taking steps to address those issues.

It recently received a three-year grant for $287,550 from the P.E.I. Alliance for Mental Well-Being, a non-profit organization created in 2021 that "aims to ensure all people living in Prince Edward Island have an equal opportunity to achieve and maintain the best possible mental well-being throughout their lifetime."

Creative P.E.I. said it will use the money to hire peer-support workers and create an accessible and affordable counselling service that caters specifically to Island artists. 

"If you're speaking to a counsellor, you may end up spending the first hour, half hour, of your session explaining why it is that you chose to be a dancer or a writer or … work in film before you even get to the mental health challenges," Sandiford said.