How You Dey: Derived from the Nigerian Pidgin greeting meaning "How are you?", this local slang might usually be a conversation starter, however in this context, it is about openness around one's true feelings on issues such as mental health and vulnerability. How You Dey is an immersive exhibition based on a series of creative well-being sessions led by artist Abike Ogunlokun, Nelly Ating, Paskaline Maiyo, and therapist Star Moyo for SSAP.
Supported by Arts Council Wales’s ‘Arts and Health Programme,’ this exhibition is a collection of week-long workshops in 2024 where participants engaged in photography, zine-making, and body painting as tools for self-expression and communal dialogue. Each activity aimed at strengthening a sense of community, vulnerabilities, and representation through stillness and connection with self. The photography session focuses on self-identity, place, and gaze, as evidenced by the familiarity of the images produced. Questions such as "How do we see things?" and "Where might our vision come from?" stayed at the centre, but also offered an opportunity for self-awareness and artistic expression. The zine workshop explored themes of identity, living in Wales and our connection to the country, as well as mental and physical well-being and community. The face and body painting session demonstrated that the body serves not only as a canvas, but also as a medium for storing memories, transforming them into expressions of beauty, resilience, inspiration, and healing.
This is the third edition of the wellbeing program under the JAMII project, after two years of testing how art can be used to tackle mental health issues in the community. We observed that How You Dey was not only a conversation starter but also a bridge, offering a space for "coming together."