“Labels” was the theme of a mail art call that originated within a therapeutic rehabilitation community with the aim of prompting patients—and subsequently the wider community—to reflect on the issues of prejudice and stigma surrounding mental health. The “labels” referred to in the title are both the physical tags attached to the artworks and the social or diagnostic labels that cause suffering.
The call spoke about “social labels, diagnostic labels, labels we’ve placed on ourselves and those we’ve been given”. The keywords were “stigma, self-stigma, identity, or simply how do you feel when someone reduces you to a word” – a description with a trace of self-irony.
What was extraordinary about the initiative was the collaboration between two institutions: the Comunità Terapeutica Riabilitativa Villa Ischia and The Recovery Center Living Museum in Orangeburg, New York.
Required were flat pieces of art in one of the three sizes 10x15cm (A6, postcard), 14.8x21cm (A5), 21×29.7cm (A4) in any technique, e.g. drawing, painting, collage, photography, visual poetry, mixed media, and more.
Exhibition: EtichettArte / ArtLabels
- Galleria Il Transito
via Giovanni Segantini, 81
Arco (Trento), near Riva del Garda
Trentino – Alto Adige / Südtirol
Italy
7–14.10.2026
Opening: 7.10. 17:00
The event is organized to coincide with World Mental Health Day and as part of Mental Health Week. Works submitted by local and international artists are displayed alongside pieces created by the patients who launched the initiative.
Participants
Mirta Caccao / No title / Due Ville (VI), Italy
Marco Furia / No title / Genova, Italy,
Silvano Perton e, Psyche out Fanzine / No title / Varazze (SV) – Italy
Horst Tress / Mr- Nobody/Sig.Nessuno / K öln – Germany
Fabrizio Pavolucci / Incontro tra uomini pollo/Meeting between chicken men / Rimini – Italy
Sabela Baña / Extrovert/Estroversa / Cruña, Spain
Keiichi Nakamura / No title / Tokyo, Japan
Stefano Loparco / Il disagio è pubblico/The discomfort is public / Cormons (GO), Italy
Viviana Ravelli / Isolitudine / Milano, Italy
Cesare + Noah Serafino / No title / Spilinbergo (PN), Italy
MH//Antipode / No title / Weißdorf, Germany
Simona Sarti / Non giudico/I don’t judge / Roma, Italy
Renate Helene Schweizer / Non arrenderti, starai bene/Don’t give up, you’ll be fine / Germany
Margherita Fergnachino / In bilico/Hovering / Chieri (TO) – Italy
Enzo Salanitro, Fobie del denaro/Money phobias / Catania, Italy
Keiichi Nakamura / No title / T okyo, Japan
Piero Barducci / 2226 Guerra alla Luna/ 2226 War on the Moon / Bologna, Italy
Jacek Czapczynski / No title / Worcester, UK
Jacek Czapczynski / No title / Worcester, UK
Desplanque Ludovic / No title / Saint Aubert, France
Blanca Naval / No title / Mexico City, Mexico
Blanca Naval / No title / Mexico City, Mexico
Blanca Naval / No title / Mexico City, Mexico
Roberto Scala / No title / Milano, Italy
Ila Tufano/Movimento Aperto / Per ciascuno il suo meglio/To each his own best / Italy
Giovanni&Renata/StraDADA / No title / Ravenna, Italy
Giovanni&Renata/StraDADA / No title / Ravenna, Italy
Giovanni&Renata/StraDADA / No title / Ravenna, Italy
Royosuke Cohen / No title / Ashiya City, Japan
Royosuke Cohen / No title / Ashiya City, Japan
Lutz Becke / I nclusion/Inclusione / Neverin, Germany
Erica Luraschi / No title / Riva del Garda, Italy
Lorenzo Massobrio / No title / Genova, Italy
Susanne Mitterwieser / No title / Liepzig, Germany
Irina Zall / No title / Minsk, Republic of Belarus
Irina Zall / No title / Minsk, Republic of Belarus
Simone / No title / France
Veronique Pozzi Patnè / No title / Milano, Italy
Gerard Jatzek / No title / Austria
40 Joy Patrick / No title / California, U.S.A.
Joy Patrick / No title / California, U.S.A.
Joy Patrick / No title / California, U.S.A.
Pedro Bericat / No title / Spain
Susann Gold / No title / Canada
Simona Sarti / No title / Roma, Italy
Carmela Sarcina / Respect/Rispetto / Italy
Cristiano Palla / No title / Tione, Italy
Cristiano Palla / No title / Tione, Italy
Franco Altobelli / No title / Bari, Italy
Franco Altobelli / No title / Bari, Italy
Franco Altobelli / No title / Bari, Italy
Katerina Mandarik / No title / Strasburgo, Austria
Luc Fierens / No title / Weerde, Belgio
Keeichi Nakamura / Who?/Chi? / Japan
Keeichi Nakamura / No tile / Japan
Keeichi Nakamura / No title / Japan
Toan Vinh La / No title / Montreal, Canada
Bernhard Zilling / Irresponsabile/Irresponsabile / Berlin, Germany
Derya Avci / Sè frammentato/Fragmented self / Kirklareli – Turkey
Stephan J.Mitterwieser / No title / Stadtbergen, Germany
Spike Spence / No title / Toronto, Canada
Spike Spence / No title / Toronto, Canada
Birgitta Volz – Stigma Mental Health/ Stigma Salute Mentale – Nuremberg, Germany
F.A.Mirri / No Stigma Forever/Per sempre no stigma / Savena – Bologna, Italy
P-0 / Thoughtful / Pensieroso / Italy
Matteo Sartorelli / Dentro un muro/Inside a wall / Italy
Matteo Sartorelli / Una goccia/A drop / Italy
Matteo Sartorelli / Guardare dentro/Look inside / Italy
Loris / Mancanza d’affetto/Lack of love / Riva del Garda, Italy
Loris / Solitudine e malinconia/Loneliness and melancholy / Riva del Garda, Italy
Francesca Zucchelli / Piango colori in una tempesta di parole/I cry colors in a storm of words / Italy
Francesca Zucchelli / Il dolore che gioca a nascondino/The pain that plays hide and seek – Italy
Francesca Zucchelli / Ho stretto amicizia con la luna/I made friends with the moon / Italy
Simon Worren / The turd is coming out / Lo stronzo sta uscendo, Gan, UK
Lutz Beeke / Resilience/Resilienza / Neverin – Germany
Marzia Maria Braglia / Bella / Beauty / Italy
Simon / Depots and concinatons/Depositi e connessioni, France
Piazza Maria Grazia / No title / Trezzo-MI- Italy
Alaf Nabihn / No title / Malaysia
Claudio Gavillo / No title / Italy
Simone Worren / No title / UK
George Dewit / No title / England
C.C / No title / Riva del Garda, Italy
Guroga / No title / Prato, Italy/Venezuela
S.D . / Space/Spazio / Italy
Elide_X_Vincenzo Conciatori / No grazie / Riva del Garda, Italy
Lucia Spagnuolo / Mask over the mask/Maschera sopra la maschera / Brescia, Italy
Ornella Marighiani / Il ragazzo con il grappolo d’uva/The boy with the bunch of grapes – Italy
Nadia Turella / Quando il mio cuore è stato il nulla unito al niente/When my heart was nothing joined to
nothing, Italy
TRASH’EM / Trippie Reddi / Italy
TRASH’EM / Abstraction/Astrazione / Italy
Luigi Mora / No title / Italy
Claudia Leonardi / No title / Italy
Greta / Greta è una stella cadente/Greta is a shooting star / Riva del Garda, Italy
Liam / No title / Riva del Garda, Italy
Teresa / La barca della libertà/The Freedom Boat / Riva del Garda – Italy
Rita Stifano / Ricomporre i frammenti: l’arte oltre il pregiudizio/Putting the fragments back together: art beyond prejudice, Italy
Ilmar Ktuusamae / No title / Estonia
Sofia / I will be a Chef/Diventerò una chef / Riva del Garda, Italy
Andrea, Sofia, Arianna / Equazione letteraria/Literary equation / Riva del Garda, Italy
Stefano Salvadori / Nome dell’artistaguera / Riva del Garda, Italy
Valentina / La mia personalità/My personality / Riva del Garda, Italy
Alessio / No title / Riva del Garda, Italy
104 Unsigned Artist / Capovolgendo/Turning upside down / Riva del Garda, Italy
Michela, Paola / L’apparenza inganna/ Appearances can be deceiving / Riva del Garda, Italy
Paola, Marilena, Roberta / Il lato positivo delle etichette/The bright side of labels, Italy
The top Image
Paola, Marilena, Roberta / Il lato positivo delle etichette/The bright side of labels / ItalyThe beer labels at the top were scanned by by 5snake5 and are in the public domain.
