By: Khalida Rixzan
Artist Ghanwa Shahnawaz takes listeners on a journey as she paints how her mental health journey intersects with her art. The material delves deep into Shahnawaz’s life as she narrates how she was diagnosed with mental health conditions at 19 and the turbulence that ensued afterward. Her artistic journey was “therapeutic” for her and begins with her enrollment in a fine arts program at Centennial College. She explains the creation of her exhibit “Monster” and how it symbolized her struggle with her mental health. Shahnawaz’s son, Rayhan Baynes, also has a mental health illness and he supports his mother through the lows and highs of her mental health.
This episode of Rye Report was produced by undergraduate students in the JRN 305 at the Ryerson School of Journalism as part of their undergraduate coursework.
