Voices Unseen
A Youth-Led Creative Art Campaign and Showcase
Submit your original art for a community showcase that amplifies youth voices and inspires reflection, understanding, and change.
Voices Unseen amplifies real stories and perspectives on mental health – inviting open expression, reflection, and connection for a cause that matters.
Voices Unseen is a youth-driven movement created by the ICPYAS Youth Advisory Council.
Explore the movement and find out how you can share your story.
About
ICPYAS invites high school students to submit original artwork to Voices Unseen, a community art campaign and showcase that sparks honest, open conversations about mental health.
Voices Unseen is a meaningful investment in amplifying youth voices in Central Indiana and reshaping our approach towards mental health awareness. It invites honest expression and open reflection by confronting the silence that surrounds these conversations.
By offering high school students a creative and supportive outlet, it allows them to explore and express the complexities of the human experience. In doing so, it cultivates empathy, connection, and a deeper understanding across generations.
What Mental Health Means for Voices Unseen
Mental health is often defined as our overall emotional and mental wellbeing — how we understand ourselves, relate to others, and meet the challenges of everyday life. This includes moments of stability and strength, but also the complexities, pressures, and internal experiences that influence our wellbeing.
With that in mind, mental health for Voices Unseen is not limited to diagnosis, struggle, or stereotype. It includes the full spectrum of internal experiences — emotions, identity, relationships, resilience, confusion, joy, numbness, healing, growth, and everything in between. These experiences shape how we cope, connect, and care for ourselves and others, which are all central to mental health and suicide prevention.
Your artwork does not need to reveal personal experiences; you may explore these ideas symbolically, abstractly, or through metaphor, story, color, movement, or sound.
This exhibit is about the unseen parts of us: the thoughts, moments, fears, and transformations that shape who we are. Our definition is intentionally broad so every student can create from a place that feels truthful, imaginative, or meaningful to them.
Art Submissions
High school students in Central Indiana are invited to submit their original artwork beginning on December 2, 2025 through February 31, 2026. Your artwork will be the focus of mental health discussions at the showcase in May 2026. Submissions can include a variety of creative mediums described below.
If you could show the world one truth about mental health, what would it be?
What part of your story or perspective deserves to be seen, heard, or understood?
How can your art help others start an honest conversation about mental health?
Creative Mediums
Physical Art
Painting
Drawing
3-D Art
Textile/Fiber Art
Printmaking
Collage
etc.
Digital Art
Digital Illustration
Photography
Short Video
Animation
Music
Digital Collage
etc.
Writing
Poetry
Short Stories
Essays
The Showcase
Taking place in May 2026, the Voices Unseen showcase will be a vibrant community gathering – a celebration of resilience, creativity, and connection. Visitors will be invited to:
Reflect and respond at interactive stations that inspire insight, conversation, and personal discovery.
Celebrate every artist, honoring the creativity and unique voice of each contributor.
Experience physical installations that capture emotion, spark thought, and illuminate personal journeys.
Engage with digital displays that amplify youth perspectives through immersive visuals and innovative storytelling.
This showcase invites our community to listen, to feel, and connect, turning art into insight, understanding, and meaningful dialogue.