Human fragility, art and emotions to raise awareness of mental health

The Medical Library will open its doors to reflection on mental health with an exhibition that can be visited from Thursday 13 November until the end of the month. The pictorial exhibition presents a series of works by the painter Montserrat Valentí, which explore different emotional states and invite us to question the boundaries between everyday emotions and mental illness.

The Bellaterra Medical Library will open its doors to reflection on mental health with an exhibition that can be visited from Thursday 13 November until 13 December. The pictorial exhibition presents a series of works by the painter Montserrat Valentí, which explore different emotional states and invite us to question the boundaries between everyday emotions and mental illness. Initially scheduled for October, the exhibition is now being presented on new dates, maintaining intact its desire to open a space for dialogue and awareness about mental health through artistic expression.

The opening will take place on 13 November at 1:00 p.m. and will be attended by the artist, Montserrat Valentí, who will present her creative process and the reflections that have inspired the works on display. Afterwards, Professor Lydia Giménez will give a talk entitled From Fragility to Resilience, which will delve into the role of emotions in understanding mental health. The event is open to the entire university community and the general public interested in the dialogue between mental health and artistic expression.

The paintings in the exhibition capture emotions such as anger, fear, mistrust, discouragement, sadness and addiction. Valentí translates these feelings into faces and bodies that reflect internal tensions, silent cries or the vulnerability of the human soul. The intensity of the works aims to raise questions in the viewer: what lies behind each expression? Are we looking at a person with a mental illness or someone who needs to be heard and understood?

To complement the exhibition, we have prepared a bibliographic selection on mental health. It is a diverse compilation that offers a broad view of the subject, with popular books, practical manuals and works focused both on the cure and care of patients and on the professional experience of nurses.

The Library wanted to join this initiative to highlight the importance of addressing mental health from a global perspective, including both academic training and social awareness. In this regard, the exhibition is in line with the spirit of the 8th Catalan Mental Health Congress, which will take place on 13 and 14 November 2025 in Barcelona and will focus on art, culture and creativity as means of promoting emotional well-being and recovery processes. In this way, the Library wishes to highlight the transformative value of artistic expression as a tool for raising awareness, promoting inclusion and improving collective wellbeing.

With this proposal, the UAB Library Service reaffirms its commitment to cultural dissemination and the creation of spaces that encourage critical reflection. The aim is for a visit to the exhibition to be an opportunity to review prejudices and understand the complexity of human emotions.

The exhibition will be open during the library's regular hours and admission is free. All interested parties are invited to attend the opening on 13 November and immerse themselves in this emotional journey through the eyes of Montserrat Valentí.