Building camaraderie
Guo said that there is currently a lack of financial and policy support in operating the center.
"I have no idea where the next investment will come from, as Zeng's support will come to an end next year," he said.
The center is located in Jiangxinzhou, a remote island in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The rent here is significantly lower than the main downtown areas.
"It would attract more attention if it was located in the inner city," said Guo, "But [for now], we must do with this place."
The most difficult part is not dealing with finances but changing people's perceptions about this demographic of largely invisible people.
NNAC states on its website that it hopes visitors will learn more about the mentally ill demographic and change preconceived notions.
"For a long time, people have been looking at this group with bias, a sense of superiority and a charitable sympathy," Guo said."It is hard to ask people to treat them equally, appreciate their works and encourage their creativity."
Such an environment hinders the development of art brut, he said. Guo found it very difficult to persuade hospitals, doctors and even families to cooperate.
"There is an invisible wall between the patients and the world. And it is painful to see many geniuses degenerate under the influence of medicine," Guo said.
"Many doubt that mentally ill patients can draw," he continued. "Some say such works are children's play. Some artists question the value of their work as well, because they don't want to be compared on equal terms with these people."
It takes time for this group of people to be accepted by society. Guo emphasizes the importance of the Law on Mental Health to be enacted, which China has been working on for years.
The Law on Mental Health provides a legal base for mentally ill people to have basic rights and respect.
Growing number
Earlier last month, Hans Looijen, the director of Het Dolhuys, Esther Vossen, exhibition planner for Het Dolhuys, and Lisa Brown, founder of Workman Arts visited NNAC and talked about the possibility of Nanjing hosting the 4th International Madness and Art Festival (MAF).
In previous years, the festival was hosted in Canada, the Netherlands and Germany. MAF is a reoccurring international and interdisciplinary manifestation of art and madness. MAF provides a stage for people with and without psychiatric background, artists, scientists and the public.
"China's influence is growing internationally, and so the country should also do something in this field," said Guo.
NNAC has attracted much international attention since its establishment. Now both the MAF and the Nanjing's city government are considering the idea.
"If held, the festival will push China's art brut development at least 10 years forward," Guo said.
It is also a movement that needs joint efforts from the government, society and NGOs, Guo said.
There is hope for change for the younger generation. Zhang Zhiwei, Guo's assistant said that about 90 percent of the visitors at the center are young people born in the 1980s.
In the West, art has been widely regarded as the best way to treat mentally ill people. Most countries in Europe and America have art centers that engage them in art creation and recovery, Guo said.
The National Center for Mental Health revealed in 2009 that there are around 100 million people with various mental disorders in China. Over 16 million of them are seriously mentally ill.
The WHO said that the best way to treat these people is to integrate them into society. For patients with talents in art, the best way is to let them draw and create.
"But I cannot be optimistic as long as the Law on Mental Health has not come out, and the art education in China continues to neglect art brut," Guo told Global Times.
Source: Global Times
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