Avivo ArtWorks
  • Avivo ArtWorks Portfolio
​ArtWorks organizes projects and exhibitions that challenge stigma and raise mental health awareness. Past partners include Hennepin County Medical Center, Soo Visual Arts Center, Augsburg College, Solar Arts Building, Hennepin County Library - Minneapolis Central, Americal Lung Association, QUITPLAN Services, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Featured here are some our most current examples of the work and partnerships.

If interested in purchasing art please contact Jes Reyes at 612-752-8282 or jes.reyes@avivomn.org.

Avivo Art Garden 

The Avivo Art Garden is a collaborative project lead by Avivo ArtWorks in which Avivo Minneapolis Community Support (CSP) members created public art for the community garden in front of the CSP at 1825 Chicago Ave South. The garden brings people together through food producing garden beds, education, art, and unity. 

The project included multiple art installations, garden plant labels, a bird bath, and two benches. 

This art activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Project dates: August 2018 - August 2019
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Avivo ArtWorks: Art Made in Community

Avivo is thankful to partner with Hennepin County to present Art Made in Community, exhibiting 30 pieces of art made by members from the Avivo Minneapolis Community Support Program.

Support artists. Celebrate Community.

Exhibition Dates: August 2019 - July 2020

Location:
Hennepin County Family Justice Center
4th Floor
100 S. 4th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401

​Monday through Friday, 8 AM – 4:30 PM

Free and open to the public when the courthouse is open.

Art on view includes:

United Practice

​Exhibition Dates: March 6 - May 24, 2019
Reception and Artist Talk: Thursday, March 14, 2019, 4-6:30 PM
Partner: Art for All: The Stephanie Evelo Fund for Art Inclusion, University of Minnesota, Pattee Hall, 150 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455


As a collective of 16 artists, the Avivo ArtWorks Collective unites together to practice art, embrace diversity, build community, and present their work publicly. “In doing so, we are challenging mental health stigma, and demonstrating that people living with mental illness can achieve success in art and life. We also aim towards building personal leadership, encouraging individuality, and supporting one another in our lives and in recovery.”  

The Avivo ArtWorks Collective is supported by Avivo through career support, social connection, and studio space. 

United Practice is a display of art from the group.

This show is possible through a partnership with the Institute of Community Integration (ICI) at University of Minnesota through their Art for All program. ICI has been exhibiting art created by people with disabilities at the Univeristy of Minnesota and at designated events since 2007. Their art exhibits are always open to the public. 

Floral Community Art

Project Date: September 2018
Permanent Public Art Installation


Five Avivo Minneapolis Community Support Program members made individual floral-themed art on wood. The art is installed in front of our building, along the steel fence by the gazebo. The art creates a welcome, inviting burst of color for individuals approaching our building. 

​Funding: Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.

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Monochromatic

​Exhibition Dates: September 5 - October 2, 2018
Partner: Theatre in the Round (Minneapolis, MN)
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Monochromatic features artwork from Avivo ArtWorks participants.                                               
Each piece of art is interested in exploring the possibilities of one color. The art exhibited in the lobby of Theatre in the Round, located on the West Bank of Minneapolis.
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Having Resiliency

Exhibition Dates: August 3 - 28, 2018
Artist Reception and Talk: Sunday, August 12
Partner: Unity Church - Unitarian (St. Paul, MN)

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​The art on exhibit in Having Resiliency represents the feel    and visual form of what each artist perceives of resiliency.  The intention of this work is to cultivate conversation, hope, and an understanding of its importance in life. 

As a collective of 16 artists, the Avivo ArtWorks Collective embraces diversity, works to build community, and present their art publicly. “In doing so, we are challenging mental health stigma, and demonstrating that people living with mental illness can achieve success in art and life. We also  aim towards building personal leadership, encouraging individuality, and supporting one another in our lives and in recovery.”  ​

Stages: One Step at a Time

​​Exhibit Dates: January 5-15, 2018
Artist Reception and Talk: Sunday, January 14
Partner: Minnesota Orchestra


Avivo ArtWorks was invited by the Minnesota Orchestra's Education and Community Engagement Program to develop an art show that paired with their Tchaikovsky Marathon. Over 10 artists from Avivo ArtWorks share a variety of perspectives and experiences on mental illness and recovery through art. The work was exhibited for two weeks in the lobby of Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.
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2nd I'm Worth It Contest

​Avivo views improving the health of those we serve as a social justice issue and is dedicated to reducing health disparities.  Effective July 31, 2018, Avivo became a completely commercial tobacco-free environment. This organization-wide, tobacco-free policy applies to all individuals served, employees and visitors. The use of all tobacco products, including electronic delivery devices (e-cigarettes), is prohibited in or on all Avivo properties. Everyone at Avivo deserves to Breathe Well! Avivo would like to thank the American Lung Association in Minnesota for their partnership, guidance and support during this transformation. 

We created an art project to promote this transition and support our community. We launched a public call for art asking for all Avivo participants to enter into the I'm Worth It Poster Contest. The art created three individaul posters as well as calendars. The calendars are a tool to assist with conversations around tobacco. They are to be given to Avivo participants and staff who are exploring quitting or are looking for more support towards living a tobacco-free lifestyle. You can use the calendar as a resource in a recovery plan, in one-on-one health coaching, during smoking cessation groups, associated pop up conversations, etc. Each image and accompanying facts and content are supportive, bright, and encouraging!
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To Really See

To Really See was a traveling exhibition project curated by Jes Reyes, the Coordinator of Avivo’s ArtWorks program, and co-organized by Paul Ranelli, a Professor of Social Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. Both met at the 2016 Minnesota Public Health Association annual meeting. Ranelli was inspired to create a photography exhibition that invited medication users to tell their story through a specific medium and how medications impacted their life. After he met Reyes and described his project idea, they became immediate partners. As they worked together, the project grew from a community arts Photovoice activity to an expanded display of diverse art mediums that spoke to the medication taking experience, with a focus on the role psychiatric medications play in our lives. “The goal is to articulate visually the importance of medications, including those prescribed for mental health, and the relevance of such medications in our lives,” Ranelli indicates about the show’s potential impact. “Medication use is embedded in society and hence is involved in value conflicts, social and economic power relationships, and various forms of cultural expression. The arts relate to and create culture, challenge thoughts and values, and foster social transformation,“ he continues.
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ArtWorks (formerly Spectrum ArtWorks), a program of Avivo, organizes projects that aim to meet its mission to challenge stigma and raise mental health awareness. “There is a benefit of creating a public narrative around a health experience, especially if there is some shame or fear around it,” Reyes said in an interview with MinnPost. 
Hennepin County Library - Cargill Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Exhibition Dates: August - September 2018

To Really See from Avivo ArtWorks on Vimeo.

St. Luke's Hospital, Duluth, MN
​Exhibition Dates: December 2017 - March 2018
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Bio-Medical Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Exhibition Dates: December 2017 - August 2018
Artist Reception and Talk: February 2, 2018
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"To Really See" Opening Remarks: Jes Reyes and Dr. Paul Ranelli from Avivo ArtWorks on Vimeo.

John Casey To Really See Artist Talk from Avivo ArtWorks on Vimeo.

Jennifer N. Campbell To Really See Artist Talk from Avivo ArtWorks on Vimeo.

Peter Hinze Artist Talk from Avivo ArtWorks on Vimeo.

Gary R. Melquist Artist Talk from Avivo ArtWorks on Vimeo.

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  • Avivo ArtWorks Portfolio