We foster the artistic development of artists recovering from mental illnesses
- 134 ARTISTS
- 1150 WORKS OF ART IN OUR COLLECTION
- 14 COUNTRIES
Supporting, promoting and managing outsider artists since 1989
Our mission
Our mission at NAEMI is to promote the artistic works of outsider artists, and reduce the stigma associated with mental illnesses by discovering, studying, promoting, exhibiting and preserving works of artistic excellence created by artists recovering from mental illnesses worldwide.
What is art brut?
This art is produced by individuals, usually self-taught and without any formal artistic training, whose work arises from an intense, innate personal vision.
These artists have a great need to express what is happening in their world, regardless of the latest fashion trends in the fascinating world of contemporary art.
Exhibitions
CURRENT Exhibitions
No Seasoning: the artworks from seven Afro descendant Cuban Outsider Artists
Opening Reception: February 27 2026 at 6.pm Location: Cooperbridge, 12500 NE 4th Ave, North Miami, FL 33161
No Seasoning: the artworks from seven Afro descendant Cuban Outsider Artists No Seasoning is a historic group exhibition to be held at the Copperbridge Foundation in North Miami. Integrated by seven Afro descendant Cuban Outsider Artists, this is the first of its kind to be shown in this city. Curated by Elvia Rosa Castro, the exhibit intends to highlight the severe and overlapping stigmas that the featured artists are subject to, racial discrimination on one hand, and the prejudice that comes due to their fragmented existence, outside cultural norms, on the other. Therefore, they all live in exceedingly vulnerable conditions and systemic disadvantages. Included in this Art Exhibition are Pedro Pablo Bacallao, Gloria de la Caridad, Misleidys Castillo, Isacc Crespo, Daldo Marte, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, and Martha Iris Pérez. From collage, drawing, sculpture, and photography, this unique exhibition brings together an intriguing yet powerful and diverse picture of the resilient, exceptional, and non-stereotypical way of dealing with their reality. With No Seasoning, the curator proposes an unfamiliar scenario, a Ten-Minute Stop, a breath of pure air and authenticity in a world filled with standardization and marked by censorship, and whose dominant logic is still based on rigid social conventions, logocentrism, and all forms of colonialism. This is an exhibition of “radical nakedness” in the sense of honesty, transparency, and absence of “socio-cultural rituals and cult rituals”. The artworks included in this show come from the NAEMI Collection (National Art Exhibitions of the Mentally Ill).
Do You Want to Help NAEMI's Artists?
We accept donations
NAEMI is a not for profit organization based in the United States, founded in 1988. NAEMI’s main goal is to discover, study, promote, exhibit and preserve the art of people recovering from mental illnesses. Since its inception, NAEMI has developed numerous projects. In addition to annual exhibitions in South Florida, the collection has traveled to numerous museums and galleries in the United States, Spain, Cuba, Belgium, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia and Mexico. We welcome all contributions and donations. If you would like to donate to NAEMI via PayPal, please click the button below.
Proudly bringing forth the best art brut and outsider art talent.
NAEMI has considered it very important to facilitate the publication of bilingual books and catalogs to educate individuals and the community, not only with the artists whose work is displayed in the collection, but also with the idea and existence of this specific type of art. Also, these publications can be use as a reference for those who work in the field of art and mental health.
Meet our sponsors
It's with the support of our generous sponsors working with us in our community, that NAEMI can deliver on its mission and reach out to a wide and diverse audience.
