University of Nevada School of Medicine
For immediate release: April 26, 2006
Contact: Emily Wofford
Marketing & Communications
702-671-6645
ewofford@unr.edu

University of Nevada School of Medicine to display Michael Nye exhibit highlighting mental health concerns

Reno, Nev.—Renowned photographer Michael Nye is bringing his multi-media exhibit “Fine Line: Mental Health / Mental Illness” to Las Vegas. The University of Nevada School of Medicine will display the exhibit throughout the month of May at the Community College of Southern Nevada campus.

“Fine Line” is a documentary of voices, stories and portraits that confronts stereotypes and reveals the courage and fragility of those living with mental illness. Nye spent four years photographing and recording these very personal stories. Schizophrenia, depression, obsessive-compulsive, anxiety and bi-polar disorders are among the experiences considered.

“I don’t know where mental health ends and mental illness begins,” says Nye. “This exhibit is about the fine line that moves through all of our lives as we weave our ways forward. It is about the recognition of our vulnerabilities and the fragility of control.”

The nationally touring exhibit consists of 55 black-and-white portraits and coordinating audio stories of individuals touched by mental illness. The aim of “Fine Line” is to draw viewers and listeners closer into each life by addressing and exploring many topics: family, confusion, pain, abuse, treatment and healing.

Nye will provide the keynote address at the exhibit’s opening reception on Friday May 12 at 6 p.m. at the Community College of Southern Nevada campus in the K101 lecture room located within the K Building at 6375 W. Charleston Avenue. Following Mr. Nye’s remarks, Dr. Jim Northrop will facilitate a panel discussion between experts and families affected by mental illness. Programming will conclude at 7 p.m. and visitors may enjoy the artwork and refreshments until the reception concludes at 8 p.m.

“Fine Line” will be displayed at the University of Nevada School of Medicine Pennington Medical Education Building from March 9 through March 31.

Nye lives in San Antonio a few blocks from the Alamo. He practiced law for 10 years before pursuing photography full time. He has displayed more than 30 one-person exhibits in museums and universities around the nation. Nye has been a recipient of a Mid-America National Endowment for the Arts grant in photography, the 2003 Kronkosky Foundation grant, and a participant in two Arts America tours in the Middle East and Asia. He has lectured widely in Morocco, India, and many museums and universities worldwide. He is married to poet Naomi Shihab Nye and has one son, Madison.

The “Fine Line: Mental Health / Mental Illness” exhibit is funded by the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Nevada Arts Council, Nevada Humanities, and the University of Nevada School of Medicine Alumni Association.

As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969. For more information, please visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.

This program has been made possible, in part, through a grant from the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.