A powerful photograph exhibition that encourages staff and students to reflect on their mental health and wellbeing has launched today at De Montfort University (DMU) Leicester.
Ten intimate portraits that depict different elements of mental health and wellbeing, such as resilience, stigma, seeking support and self-care, have been placed in buildings across campus.
From left to right: Dr Su Lu, Sunny Gill, Prof Raghu Raghavan, VC Professor Katie Normington, Prof Brian Brown and Dr Mark Kasumovic
The exhibition is part of Mental Health Awareness Week (Monday 11 May to Sunday 17 May) and is based on the concept of mental health literacies, an idea that recognises that there are multiple ways people understand and experience mental health and wellbeing.
A QR code will sit underneath each photograph and will share questions with participants and enable them to anonymously share their thoughts.
Speaking at the opening of the exhibition on DMU’s Campus Centre, Vice-Chancellor of DMU, Professor Katie Normington, said: “Mental health literacy is about empowerment, it is about ensuring our students and staff have the knowledge, the vocabulary, and the confidence to navigate their wellbeing and support one another effectively.”
The portraits will hang in the Campus Centre, Kimberlin Library, Queens Building, the Food Village, Gateway House, Clephan Building, Hugh Aston, Hawthorne and the Edith Murphy Building.
Professor of Mental Health at DMU, Raghu Raghaven, has been carrying out research into mental health literacies in both India and the UK. He hopes that the photos will help people understand that mental ill-health is more than just a diagnosis.
Professor Raghaven said: “Too often mental health is seen only through a medical lens, but mental wellbeing is also shaped by hope, community, spirituality, self-help and the meaning people make in their own lives.
“This is a new, innovative, creative way of engaging with students and staff.
“For many people, mental health is still difficult to talk about openly. This exhibition gives them a quieter and safer way to reflect, without pressure or stigma.”
Resilience, one of the photos that is being displayed on campus
The portraits have been captured by photographer and DMU Fine Art alumna, Sunny Gill.
The portraits have been captured by freelance photographer and DMU Fine Art alumnus, Sunny Gill, who has leaned into her own experiences of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic to bring out themes in her photography.
Much of her work has focused on exploring emotion, resilience, and her subjects’ lived experience, so when she was asked to be involved in the project, Sunny was keen to explore how mental health could be represented through portraiture and human connection.
“I wanted to focus on the connection I made with my models. Once you start talking to people, you begin to understand what they’re carrying with them and that, I feel, makes the images stronger.
“I just hope that the work gets through to some people and helps somebody. Even if it allows them to reflect on their wellbeing themselves, I think that’s the most important thing.”
The exhibition runs across the entirety of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Posted on Monday 11 May 2026