The Icarus Project is celebrating 10 years of existence!
I can vividly remember the year they first came to fruition, and the joy I felt knowing that there were people like me in the world. I was 16 years old, and Icarus made me feel a little less alone in my hometown. At the time, I didn’t understand how to go about creating such a space or project on my own, as I had never met or talked to an activist before in my life. I thought it was an act of great difficulty and awesome accomplishment to bring mad rad folks together for healing. I wanted to do it myself, but was overwhelmed by the task. It stayed in the back of my mind for years, and I watched the unfolding beauty of healing from the sidelines.
I moved back to Richmond again in June 2010 because I had met activists for the first time in my life. Just the act of them existing (whether I agreed with their tactics and work or not) was enough for me to feel empowered to start my own group. In September 2010 I started the process and dialogue of bringing Icarus back to Richmond, as it had long come and gone with another group of people. Richmond was in great need of radical mental health once again.
In October 2010, Mindful Liberation Project was officially started. We get to celebrate our 2 year anniversary along with Icarus’s 10th! We started as a local group of The Icarus Project, but we have become so much more since. This year we split into three separate projects: Mindful Liberation Project, RVA Peer Support, and FOIA For Change.
We have our own mad rad torches to proudly bear! Stay tuned for a potential written history of Mindful Liberation Project! -MO
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There’s a 10 year anniversary celebration in San Francisco for all our readers from the West Coast.We’ve managed not only to survive with our scar songs, mad wisdom, and crooked beauty, but by 2012 to grow into an international community of activists, artists, healers, scholars, lovers, fighters, and dreamers!
Read about the event from Sascha at Mad in America.
What: Icarus 10 Year Anniversary Celebration with open mic, spoken word, and live musical performances! $5-25 sliding scale donation (no one turned away for lack of funds).
When: Thursday, Sept. 20th 6-8:30pm, outdoor patio (scent free)*
9pm-12am: indoors
Where: El Rio 3158 Mission St (@ Cesar Chavez), San Francisco
Who: The Icarus Project is a network of radical support groups, an arts and media project, and a creative activist platform for re-visioning the language and culture around ideas of mental health and illness. http://theicarusproject.net/
RSVP and read more at the Facebook event here.
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