Emily Dickinson, Sigmund Freud and Michelangelo are noted for their significant contributions in their respective fields. And all were affected by mental illness. Toward the back of the brochure for the "Abilities 2006 Art Show," curator Philippe L. Gross lists nearly 100 famous people — actors, athletes, leaders, musicians, writers, scientists and artists — whose lives have been touched by mental illness.

"The goal of this show has two sides to it," says Gross, who is a photographer as well as a psychologist. "One is that sometimes you need a voice or a place for your voice. Because when you experience mental illness you often don't have a voice. For many of these artists, this is the first time they are in a show, and some of them are very accomplished. ... The other part is to fight the stigma of mental illness."

The fourth annual juried show, on view at the Studio of Roy Venters in Chinatown, features 38 pieces by 21 Hawai'i artists. The works widely range in style and medium: pen and ink, graphite, paint, sculpture, fiber and photography. Most of the artists in the show are "consumers of mental health services," Gross says.

Beth Morgan Harris, an artist with several pieces in this year's show, says her work helps her evaluate her emotional state.

"I use my art to help myself," says Harris, who works in several media. "I get on paper what I need to get on paper. In fact, my art educates me. Later, or even while I'm doing them, I can see what the issues are. The art helps define what I'm going through."

An emotional quality pervades several works. Ellen Heid's "Blinded by Rage" depicts the dark subject matter with bold color choices and technique. Magilla Sumida's "Shrink," done in graphite, illustrates "death" through the eyes of a "street psychiatrist."

Other works, such as Clinton S. Pang's portrait of a flamingo, offer a formal tone and quieter emotional place. And Sherilyn Marzan's "Portrait of a Dog" shows a raw but tender style.

For Harris, who has been working on art since she was in high school, what makes this show special is that artists do express some of the more difficult emotions that come with mental illness.

"The show is very mixed," Harris says. "With a lot of other art shows, (the work) can be about how pretty or how perfectly executed the work is. But this can be like, 'What's the story here?' or 'What does this work say, what's the meaning here?' And, 'Oh wow, it's still very well done art!' "

For Harris, creating work is about accessing the interior spaces, be they darker or lighter, regardless of mental illness — though both she and Gross say that being affected by mental illness can allow access to darker and even more colorful places.

"Sometimes when you have had a mental illness, it opens doors or ways of seeing that are unusual or different," Gross says. "That can allow someone to bring that vision into the artwork, so that's a contribution."

Museums are full of treasures by people who have been affected by mental illness — Van Gogh, Rothko, Pollock. We flock to their retrospectives, buy magnets, umbrellas or coffee cups bearing reproductions of their works.

Texas artist and musician Daniel Johnston, long affected by a bipolar disorder, is a darling in the art world.

His small, pen-and-ink drawings sell for thousands. This year, his work is in the Whitney Biennial in New York. A documentary on his life, "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," won the 2005 Sundance Film Festival's director's prize. (The film plays this week at the Doris Duke Theatre.)

But in our everyday lives, mental illness still carries a heavy stigma, Gross says.

"Most of the time in the newspaper or in the press, (mental illness) is associated with something negative, if someone did a crime or ..." says Gross. "This show is to celebrate the talents of people and to show that people who have been affected by mental illness actually contribute much more to our culture than we believe they do because of the stigma."

Sue Kiyabu is a freelance writer based in Honolulu.