The Awakenings Project

The Awakenings Project works to raise public awareness and acceptance of the creative talents of people living with psychiatric disorders who work in the fields of fine art, music, literature or drama. Many of our artists are multi-talented in different disciplines. Awakenings was the winner of "Outstanding Contribution to Recovery by a Non-Profit Organization" from the Irwin Foundation at Celebration Recovery in 2006. Awakenings also won a "Stigma Busters" award from Ecker Center in 2010, and three years ago, we were selected for the 2015 Best of Elgin Award for Non-Profit Organization. We create an internationally renowned annual literary arts journal, The Awakenings Review, have had numerous fine arts exhibitions in beautiful gallery settings, released a CD of poetry and music, and our founder is a playwright who has had his plays read at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, the Russ Tutterow, and the Greenhouse Theater at Chicago Dramatists. He will also have his play, Dementia Praecox, produced by Goodly Creatures Theatre in Elgin in February 2020.

The Awakenings Project is a grass-roots initiative whose mission is to assist artists with psychiatric illnesses in developing their craft and finding an outlet for their creative abilities through art in all forms. At the Awakenings art studio, artists have access to a "drop-in" environment, providing a supportive creative environment including work space, friendship, and/or solitude for those who seek it. The studio, currently located in Elgin, IL, having moved there in 2008 from Glen Ellyn, IL, is also used for other functions, such as providing writing workshops, play rehearsals, PhotoVoice contests, and receptions.