Good Practice Against Stigma: The Mail Art Stigma Model

 For twenty years, the Mail Art Stigma exhibition has transformed postal art into a tool for inclusion. A global project communicating diversity, neurodivergence, and expressive freedom, engaging youth, educators, citizens, and patients in a unique cultural and psycho-educational practice. 

Emotional Experiences

Mail Art Stigma gives the feeling of traveling around the world, making large or small geographic leaps, following whatever attracts you: from a postcard turned into a 1970s-style collage, to a minimalist artist’s book, or a postcard printed in cold relief. There is even a piece of stamped wood – yes, wood sent by mail, almost unthinkable today. There is a book made from car wash scraps, alluding to “cleaning,” with pages composed of dirty rags. The narratives are humorous, cultural, political, postmodern, romantic, or intimate. It is a kaleidoscope of emotions and sensibilities translated into the artistic languages closest to each creator: painting, pop art, charcoal, photography, material art. One can choose an emotional journey, empathizing with the artists’ life stories, or follow the strong urge for radical change they express in different ways. Mail Art Stigma is an immersive journey, but without technology. It is a state of connection without any network. It is simply a small taste of Humanity.

Stigma as a Barrier to Mental Health Care

According to the WHO, stigma is one of the main obstacles to accessing adequate care for mental disorders in Europe. The European Health Report 2024 highlights how discrimination and fear of social judgment prevent many people from seeking timely help. WHO also emphasizes anti-stigma initiatives based on lived experiences and community collaboration, crucial for early recognition of psychological distress. (who.int)

Twenty Years of Art and Inclusion

In 2025, the Mail Art Stigma exhibition celebrates its 20th anniversary. Born as a cultural and psycho-educational project, it represents a good practice against stigma and promotes human diversity. Its power lies in postal art as a free, collective language capable of connecting distant worlds.

From the International Call to a Network of Diversity

In 2005, 400 invitation letters were sent to mail artists worldwide, many linked to IUOMA (International Union of Mail Artists) and others in contact with Tiziana Baracchi, one of Italy’s first mail artists.
More than 250 artists responded from all continents, creating a global dialogue on identity and the mind.
🎥 Watch the video showcasing many works

Art Therapy and Awareness through Mail Art

The Mail Art Stigma exhibition-concept can also be seen as a form of art therapy. By engaging artists and audiences in creating, handling, and reflecting on art, it fosters emotional expression, self-awareness, and empathy. The process supports mental well-being while raising awareness of stigma, making art both a therapeutic and educational tool.

The Theme: Diversity of Mind and Body

The project, developed by Stigmamente in collaboration with the University of Foggia, the Psychiatry Chair of Prof. Antonello Bellomo, and the Biblioteca Magna Capitana, addressed a theme that seemed simple: the diversity of mind and body.
This led to a high-quality art volume, supported by the Province of Foggia and the Independent Film Festival.

Mail Art: The Free Art of Fluxus

Mail Art, born in the 1960s from the Fluxus movement, promotes art as a non-commercial and participatory exchange.
Artists send works by mail, creating a global network of communication free from markets and hierarchies.
As Giancarlo Da Lio wrote, “Mail Art is the last refuge of creativity,” a gesture of freedom that values being over having.

Why It Is a Good Practice Against Stigma

Mail Art Stigma is a good practice because it transforms art into a tool for inclusion and social reflection. It allows discussion of mental and bodily stigma without barriers, fostering empathy, participation, and intercultural dialogue. Every mailed envelope becomes a universal message: diversity is wealth, not a flaw.

Communicating Neurodivergence and Neurodiversity

Mail Art Stigma is a powerful tool to communicate neurodivergence and neurodiversity. Through images, symbols, and postal messages, the project makes cognitive and perceptual differences visible, educating about understanding, empathy, and the unique value of each individual.

What It Offers to Different Communities

Youth

For youth, Mail Art is a laboratory of creative freedom and awareness. Through postal art, they learn to express emotions, thoughts, and identity outside conventional norms. It teaches respect, diversity, and the power of authentic communication.

Teachers and Educators

For teachers and educators, Mail Art is an experiential teaching method. It encourages cooperation, empathy, and reflection on stigma and inclusion. Each work becomes a tool for emotional and social learning, shared among students.

Medical Humanities

In medical humanities, Mail Art provides a bridge between care and culture. Postal art allows doctors, psychologists, and healthcare professionals to explore patient emotions, integrating aesthetic and relational dimensions in humanistic training.

Patients and Families

For patients and families, Mail Art offers a non-judgmental communication channel. Through images, words, and colors, it allows expression of pain, hope, and the desire to be understood. Shared participation reduces isolation and strengthens community bonds.

Citizens

For citizens, Mail Art Stigma is an opportunity for engagement and active citizenship. Exhibited works in public spaces stimulate dialogue on human diversity and mental health. Observing, reflecting, and participating becomes an act of collective care.

The Exhibition Today: Art and Community

The 2025 edition is open in the historic center of Pietramontecorvino from September 19 to October 6.
The selection includes original works and thematic totems, creating a path that intertwines art, territory, and inclusion.
The invisible cultural fabric meets the social fabric, following Stigmamente’s philosophy: genuine inclusion that fosters community.

The Exhibition as a Global Concept

Mail Art Stigma is not just an exhibition but a multimedia concept: documentary using the videoblob technique, original works received by mail to touch, read, and turn, unique artist books, and exhibition panels.
Its global dimension promotes diversity through authentic artistic self-expression. Freedom and joy in creating remove conformity and single-minded thinking—a powerful message as relevant today as twenty years ago.

Recognition and Collaborations

The exhibition, part of the Terranima project, is sponsored by the XXI Contemporary Art Day AMACI, the Uaremyproblem Pavilion of The Wrong Biennale, and is included in activities of the XX Festa dei Lettori, promoted by the Presidio del Libro of Manfredonia.

Luigi Starace

Selected Bibliography on Mail Art

1. Starace L., Mail Art Stigma, Grenzi Editore, 2005.

2. L’arte dei Folli, Skira, 2010.

3. Stigliani M., Arte Postale e Fluxus, Electa, 2008.

4. Bloch S., The Art of Mail, Thames & Hudson, 2012.

5. Baracchi T., Mail Art in Italy: History and Practices, Postmedia, 2007.