Huron County Museum Hosts New Art Exhibit That Explores Impacts Of Eating Disorders

by Bob Montgomery

The Huron County Museum is pleased to host beyond ana, a new art exhibit by Blyth artist Kelly Stevenson.

The exhibit is presented as both a tribute to a voice lost before its time and a catalyst to start conversations about the impacts of eating disorders. Museum Senior Curator Elizabeth French Gibson explains Kelly Stevenson is an artist from Huron County who received an Arts Council grant to do a project called beyond ana and was looking for somewhere to exhibit that project and the Museum had the facility that allowed her to do that.

Sarah Stevenson was just 18 in 1997 when she lost her years-long battle with anorexia. That loss left a lifelong mark on her then 6-year-old cousin Kelly who has spent the years since trying to come to terms with Sarah’s death, advocating for better access to proper treatments, and working to shift society’s understanding of eating disorders and those who battle them.

“The aim of the exhibit is to open the viewers eyes and hearts to the reality and humanity of those who live with illnesses that are so often misunderstood and caricatured as simply being “young women’s diseases” rooted in vanity,” said Stevenson.

The opening of the exhibit is on Saturday, September 21st. Doors open at 6:30 PM with opening remarks at 7 p.m. in the Museum theatre before the exhibit viewing. French Gibson notes that beyond ana explores the impacts of eating disorders, including anorexia, and may not be appropriate for all audiences. The exhibit is included with regular admission to the Huron County Museum, or free with Museum membership or a Huron County Library card. For full details, visit: https://www.huroncountymuseum.ca/beyond-ana/