Can U Hear Immersive Art Experience Tackles Trauma, Mental Health

Dallas-based transdisciplinary artist Brandy Michele Adams has curated a new art exhibition created to help people explore a way toward a restorative healing journey.

The neurodivergent creative is the founder of W.A.A.S. Gallery near Fair Park. Her art form integrates knowledge and methods from multiple mediums to create art that addresses complex social issues. This month, her new 30-day immersive showcase, Can U Hear – A Mental Health Experience, opened to the public at the gallery.

Before opening her art space, Adams was a celebrity hair and makeup artist. Now, she wants to give people their own platform for expression.

“The reason I opened in 2011 was, one, to illustrate we are all stars, not just [the] celebrities,” she says. “So, the acronym W.A.A.S. is because … I truly believe we are all stars. And it’s people like myself, on the ground, doing the work, opening up these transformative spaces that will really allow someone to be educated – to be elevated.”

Adams thrives on translating all her encounters throughout her career and personal journey into her art. Her belief that others can learn from different perspectives is what drives her artistic inspiration.

“I’ve decided to bring all of the experiences, practices and tools that I’ve harnessed over the last 30 years to integrate into art experiences so people can truly know what it is to care for themselves by experiencing art through the different lenses and the different mediums,” she says.

Her art is also informed by profound trauma. The vision for the Can U Hear exhibit experience was born from Adams’ surviving a drunk driving accident. The life-changing incident left a lasting impact on her as she sustained a traumatic spinal cord injury and lives with a constellation of invisible disabilities. This led the exhibit to incorporate sensory-rich environments that integrate all five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.

“I truly believe art can be a tool when it comes to healing, [and] when it comes to getting people together that can’t quite agree,” says Adams. “And like, how do you use art? Meditation.”

For Adams, the ability of immersive art is what awakens that connection to healing.

“You’ll also experience sound bowls during the exhibit,” she explains. “Like, how are these modalities almost forgotten in a way? When you come to this experience, you’ll be revived through the senses. [I’m] talking about how we see things, how we hear things, how we talk about them, how we taste them, how we smell them.”

“And for me,” she continues, “it’s like art on a wall is great, but I wanted it to be paintings beyond walls. I really want to be able to create impactful spaces where people feel safe in their bodies, especially when it comes to talking about mental health. It’s a very stigmatized conversation.”

Can U Hear is also Adams’ reflection on how reconnecting with her senses, especially after partially losing her hearing, transformed her healing journey and deepened her connection to the natural world.

“I actually had to come back to my five senses to really grow,” she says. “It wasn’t any one sense, but I did find that having that limited hearing gave me a deeper way to feel. I don’t think we’re in contact with [senses], so this exhibit reminds people that, again, it’s in our nature to rest. Though it hasn’t been told that it’s a birthright, it’s in our nature to have joy.”

Adams also says Texas’ reputation for lacking in mental health dialogue and resources inspired her latest exhibit.

According to a study by Mental Health America, Texas ranks among the states with the lowest access to mental healthcare.

“Texas is almost dead last when it comes to mental health conversations, and that’s the research I started in 2016,” says Adams. “Six out of five people walking around in Texas have been undiagnosed … about 20% of our teens between 6 and 17 are also struggling with mental health issues. Anybody in a low-income community or the underserved doesn’t even have access.”

The artist says the support she received from others allowed her to find care. She hopes her new exhibit will continue that pipeline for audiences.

“A lot of this conversation is that I have support – if I didn’t have the support that I have, I wouldn’t have the access,” she says. “So what the last five years taught me was that we can learn how to care so deeply for ourselves that we become the access.”

Can U Hear highlights include works like a ceramic ear labyrinth symbolizing the fragility of communication and the nuances of invisible illness. The Shimmer Room is a calming sanctuary built from reclaimed wood to evoke emotional safety and self-expression. Textured mixed-media paintings reflect the layered complexities of mental health and healing.

Now, with the exhibit open, Adams has reclaimed the space where her trauma occurred, turning it into a collection of empowerment, remembrance and purpose that she hopes others will embrace for themselves.

“Building this out, it brings up a lot of my own trauma, as some of it happened in this space,” she says. “So, it’s, again, taking that power back of turning trauma into triumph – I was a victim, but I’m a victor. And I don’t really consider myself just a survivor, but a successor.”

Can U Hear – A Mental Health Experience is open to the public now through May 30.