Like its predecessor, the objectives for Common Ground are twofold: To normalize mental health experiences and reduce stereotypes, and to empower individuals with lived experience to serve as educators and advocates for a positive change in our attitudes about mental health. We hope this collaborative art making process will allow the artist partners to share their struggles, insights and coping mechanisms to gain a greater sense of self-esteem and self-acceptance, while allowing viewers to connect with and better understand the emotional struggles in their own lives. It will demonstrate the positive connection between  the creativity and expression that can be fostered through any art form and the need to care for our mental well-being. The artist partners will receive the satisfaction of seeing their work in a professional exhibition space and feel the sense of empowerment that can be gained by sharing their valuable lived experience.