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 Expressions of Courage is a collection of approximately 20 winning pieces of artwork from the Expressions of Courage® contest, a national art contest for people with epilepsy sponsored by Ortho-McNeil Neurologics®, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, in partnership with the Epilepsy Foundation. The exhibit was held on Franklin’s historic downtown square on August 30 and 31. Since 2002, Ortho-McNeil Neurologics® has partnered with the Epilepsy Foundation to conduct the Expressions of Courage®. The “Expressions of Courage®: Through the Years” exhibition is a collection of winning artwork from previous Expressions of Courage® contests. Developed in February 2006 by the Society for the Arts in Healthcare and Ortho-McNeil Neurologics®, the exhibition aims to enhance public awareness of epilepsy and promote the arts as an integral component of health care.  

Selected by curators from the Society for the Arts in Healthcare, the exhibition represents a collection of pieces from hundreds of winning entries, all of which illustrate both the profound effect that epilepsy can have on a human life and the courage many show in facing it.  By expressing the fear, hope and courage that stems from facing a serious neurological condition, the talented artists in the Expressions of Courage® contest allow those unfamiliar with epilepsy to see the condition through the eyes of those living with it.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes abnormal electrical discharges in the brain that temporarily disrupt normal brain function, causing seizures to occur. More than three million people in the United States have some form of epilepsy and approximately 200,000 new cases of seizure disorders and epilepsy are diagnosed each year.  Epilepsy can develop at any time in life, but there is a particular susceptibility in young children and the elderly. There is currently no cure for epilepsy, but medications help control seizure activity in the majority of people with this condition.

For more information on the exhibition, epilepsy and the Expressions of Courage® art contest, visit www.expressionsofcourage.com.