“Recovery is the journey away from stigma and towards healing.”
- Myken Lint, Public Affairs Coordinator for Fresh A.I.R Gallery

This gallery’s image says it all: a dark, encompassing tunnel opening up to fresh air and sunlight. Offering local artists and art-aficionados a breath of fresh air, Columbus’s Fresh A.I.R Gallery is a welcome presence in city full of urban distractions and demands. But the Fresh A.I.R Gallery is more than just an artistic oasis, it’s a place of safety and recovery.

The A.I.R. of Fresh A.I.R. Gallery stands for Artists In Recovery. The gallery was opened nearly four years ago as a division of Southeast, Inc. recovery and mental healthcare services, a local non-profit mental health, substance abuse and homeless services organization. The gallery has become an open, public space for artists to exhibit work that has often helped them in their recovery. Says Myken Lint, the Public Affairs Coordinator of the gallery, “The gallery has a two-fold purpose: to provide a venue for high quality artwork by persons affected by mental health or substance abuse disorders and to educate the community about Recovery and decrease stigma about mental illness.”

Certainly Fresh A.I.R Gallery is doing this through its varied and multiple exhibits. A few examples from the 2007 exhibition schedule include the work of steel sculptor Chris Mohler, photographer Stephanie Matthews, painter Clint Stapleton and mixed media sculptor Aubrey Victoria Touchman.

Lint is quick to note that though the artists may be in recovery, the art and the artistic process are the focus of this gallery. “Through art,” she says, "we educate the community and work to break down the stigma of mental illness and substance abuse by bringing focus to the artistic vision.”

Promoting the artistic vision is one of the goals of Fresh A.I.R. Lint notes that the gallery hopes to partner with other Columbus based galleries, artists and organizations in the coming year to further fulfill its purpose.

The Fresh A.I.R Gallery may have a set of goals for itself, but it has accomplished a lot already to be proud of. The gallery sponsors an Artist’s Circle the last Tuesday of every month from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., aimed at uniting artists connected to the gallery or the community and encouraging them to inspire and share with each other.

Furthermore, the Fresh A.I.R Gallery has been able to engage with the Columbus community and local arts scene. The annual Southeast fundraiser called “The Art of Recovery” is a gala event that involves about 60 Columbus-area artists and galleries and even a few local celebrities. A Friday evening event composed of a live auction, silent auction, and reception it also exhibits work by an ‘artist in recovery’ to confirm that treatment and recovery are not only possible, but also successful.

Last year the event was a smashing success, raising $90,000. And the plans for the 2008 event are aiming for even better. Yet, what the gallery and its coordinators are most proud of, says Lint, are the artists themselves. “We are proud of the courage and strength of our artists that show their artwork (sometimes for the first time) for the world to see.”

One such courageous exhibit is currently showing. The ReFocus exhibit is a collection of photographs in honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The photographs center around ten artists who have had to ‘refocus’ their lives due to HIV/AIDS. They worked for three months under consultant Rachael Thompson and gallery manager Kimberly Glover. This exhibit coincides with a week of HIV/AIDS awareness activities held in Columbus promoting testing and medical and support services.

Not only does this exhibit focus on photography, it also hopes to decrease the stigma and fear of HIV/AIDS and encourage the community to “get educated, get tested, and take charge.” After the ReFocus Exhibit, the Fresh A.I.R gallery will be hosting work by painter Brad Moyer in March, Installation work by Jennifer Eisenhauer, Ph.D. in May, photographer Matt Mascaro in June, painter Stephen Riggs in July and the man who named Columbus the “Indie Art Capital of the World," artist Mike Reed, later in the year.

The Fresh A.I.R Gallery offers Columbus gallery-goers a chance for both aesthetic art and art with a conscience. Located in Columbus at 131 N. High Street at the corner of High and Long, the gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.