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Testimonials for SEEN V by Creativity Alive, Dec 2024 - Jan 2025

"I've lived in Boulder 70 years and never seen anything this heartfelt in this gallery. -- Thank you."  -- Anna Norris, LCSW, from the SEEN V Opening Dec 11, 2024

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"Went to the SEEN show at the library yesterday.  It was....stunning, emotional, touching, beautiful.  What an enormous amount of creativity, hard work, and imagination that it took to have it happen. To you and all the others who brought it into birth, thank you." 
- Rev Alan Johnson, co-founder of the Interfaith Network on Mental Illness INMI

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"This is so powerful. Beautifully and heartbreakingly well done."  -- Anonymous visitor to SEEN V Gallery

"I am inspired by the depth and power of these works. The large intergenerational group of artists, the openness and mutual support of all participants gives me great hope in these rugged, challenging times." -- Kimmerjae 

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"I have been out on leave and am just returning, so I only just had a chance to go through the gallery this week. It is such a special, heart-wrenching exhibit, and I am so grateful the library is hosting this. On Tuesday, I saw a mother/daughter duo embracing each other and crying as they looked at the memorials for some of the young people lost to suicide. We need more public places to grieve and hold the heaviness of such horrific loss. Thank you for your work coordinating and curating this.  -  Boulder Public Library staff member
 

"This has been an incredible experience to have my very first art piece showcased and feel seen as a true artist from myself and from others.... The art was so moving and tender-hearted as well as inspirational. " -- Tamika Cox

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"Beautiful, touching exhibit. We, as a society, must fearlessly examine why there is so much disease and unease." -- Phil Silberman

“Dear Merlyn and SEEN V Team,
You built a beautiful event tonight (the opening). The community really came together - people from all sorts of differing walks of life, and all different age groups connected tonight via SEEN V. The artwork was amazing. The section in memory of the recent young lives lost was so touching. The music was lovely, the conversations were lively and meaningful.
Thank you for all that you are doing.”
Andi Jason
Colie’s Closet Program Director
Rise Against Suicide Board of DIrectors
Jesse’s Mom
 
"SEEN V has had a surprisingly profound effect on my life. I was moved to tears both at the opening and my subsequent visit. I am so proud to be part of this powerful exhibit. Bringing light to these difficult and sometimes overwhelming parts of our humanity is how we begin to heal, both ourselves and each other. Blessings.... 
“At age 69, I have just begun showing my work publicly. SEEN V is my second show, and my first as part of a community event. Both my art and myself are ready to be SEEN! 
“....I had friends show up at the opening the I haven't seen for a long time. We were able to have honest and open conversations regarding mental health, at levels previously unexpressed.-- Bob Wiz

"It moved me to tears to see all the artists' expression of self and the commemoration of the lives lost." -- Leila Pettibone

"I was here to support my mom whose art was featured and was so moved by everything, particularly by the young people! ...I would love to get involved." -- Alexa Mejos
 
"SEEN V was like no other art exhibit I have ever participated in before. It was a heartful, passionate collaboration of a wide diversity of a group of community members, joining together from a deep sense of dedication and personal commitment to increase public awareness of the devastating and preventable tragedy of suicide. I have been deeply touched by the extent of personal intimate sharing in our group discussions, in the process of setting up the exhibit, and, moreover, in the courageous, heartening and creative expressive art pieces created by the participants. It has been an inspiring, impactful, experience that has sensitized me about the catastrophic impact of suicide along with the remarkable potential to find healing and wholeness in working with this shattering challenge.... 
“My overall experience has been much greater than I had anticipated... It was healing for me to participate in a collaborative, community-based art show on such an essential issue, providing an environment to work in and share well beyond the isolation and constraints of an individual show. I witnessed extensive, animated personal sharing not only among participants but among many attendees at the opening, and have specifically received strong endorsements about the healing quality of this exhibit from a number of my friends.”   -- David Silver

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"I'd like to explore the potential for joining your leadership team. Let's talk about it soon.
What a wonderful show! One of the best I've ever been involved in. I'm so grateful to you for including me."  -- Martin Sugg, former gallery owner in Boulder

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“I just went to the library exhibit. Thank you for telling me about it.
I broke down in a flood of tears and haven’t been able to move for 30 minutes.
This is so powerful.
Beautifully and heartbreakingly well done.”
– anonymous friend of artist Buffy Andrews

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"As a mom who lost a child to suicide and now works in suicide prevention, I found the show beautiful and moving. I love how it engages the community....  Amazing art! Beautiful memory space." -- Andi Jason

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"Cómo hermana de alguien que se a auto lesionado durante 2 años es una experiencia para mí el mostrarle a ella que no es la única en hacer eso y que hay modos de ser feliz de otros modos. 
(As the sister of someone who has been self-injured for 2 years, it is an experience for me to show her that she is not the only one to do that and that there are ways to be happy in other ways.) -- Fany Lopez Hernandez

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It felt inspiring to walk through the exhibit and witness all breadth of generosity and empathy expressed through all the offered art forms. – Moudi Sbeity

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"I was truly touched to have met the mothers of a few of the young people who's lives were ended way too soon. I watched the visitors to the exhibit being filled with emotion and I knew that they learned something important here. I believe more people in our community will reach out to the youth and check in with them more often." 
-- Karen Dombrowski-Sobel, participating artist

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“SEEN V has had an impact on my life by helping me feel more involved with my community. It is really incredible to see everyone sharing their experiences, emotions, struggles, and joy. SEEN V reminds me that as a whole, people are still people and feel all the same things I do…. My experience overall has been incredibly positive. Seeing everyone sharing their experiences really helped me feel seen and understood, just like I hope my pieces did for them. SEEN V has such a powerful message of connection and humanity, its truly an incredible gallery!!... The aspects of SEEN V I have found most meaningful is how many people participated in it. It seems like the whole Boulder art community came together and created pieces that everyone can relate to, with powerful messages that bring to light hard truths like grief, discrimination, hope, anger, struggle, joy, and so much more. Seeing all of this together is so inspiring, its very meaningful!...  Personally, this project made me feel very connected and understood by my peers. I know, have seen, and understand that everyone around me has gone through a whole array of struggles, challenges, and good times. I feel very connected to my community from this! … SEEN V inspired my creativity by having me stretch my usual creative process to truly display and inspire emotions. I leaned on the pure black-and-white charcoal and ink for this, trying to convey an emotion out of those strict colors. I felt like the emotions I had didnt fit within the world, but by using SEEN V’s prompt I could allow myself to truly feel and be understood…. SEEN V has helped build community by allowing people to feel connected. Whether it’s connecting through emotions, socially, or just feeling understood when so many people show up and see yours and others art and nod, SEEN V has built Boulder’s community up more…. SEEN V allowed me to work through my feelings of anger and injustice, which was very cathartic. I also saw a large installation regarding a boy who had committed suicide, and I understood just how loved this boy was from the first glance. Time, effort, grief and love had been put into the installation, and I assume putting that love and emotion into the display helped the healing of the parents and friends of the boy.  -- Jacqueline Shires
” – Jacqueline Shires, participating artist

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"Being a part of SEEN V has led to meaningful connections between myself and those engaging with my art. My pieces reveal intimate feelings and experiences I have that feel taboo for our culture but in this space they are free and welcomed!" -- Sarah Fitzpatrick

"It has been inspiring to witness all the different textures, colors, and sounds of artistic expression that the community has to offer, and it makes me proud to live in Boulder!... I am beyond grateful for such a positive experience and opportunity to connect with other artists in town!" -- Shayden Fakhimi