Derek Hess Designs Shirt For Mental Health Awareness Month

Renowned Cleveland based artist Derek Hess has teamed up with e-commerce company Threadless and in acknowledgement of Mental Health Awareness Month to design a t-shirt to benefit Hope For The Day, a global non-profit organization achieving proactive suicide prevention by providing outreach and mental health education through self-expression platforms.

Hess has been public about his struggle with alcoholism and bipolar disorder, even releasing an intimate autobiographical documentary, Forced Perspective (2016), which has already won awards at the Cleveland International Film Festival, the Beverly Hills Film Festival and many others. Forced Perspective showcases the evolution of a renowned artist and his effect on music and culture while highlighting the link between creativity and mental illness.

His design “Hemorrhage” is available on shirts and triblends in a variety of colors only during the month of May. All proceeds will go to Hope For The Day and with each purchase of the t-shirt, you will get access to the Forced Perspective documentary.

Threadless will also be hosting a viewing of Forced Perspective at their HQ in Chicago, IL on May 22 at 6:30pm. The viewing will have live performances from Dustin Currier and Matthew Santos as well as a Q&A with Derek and filmmaker Nick Cavalier.

Space is limited and you can RSVP here:

His documentary, Forced Perspective, is available for purchase via IndieMerch in DVD and BluRay formats, as well as for download and streaming On Demand via Vimeo, Amazon, iTunes and Google Play. IndieMerch has several physical packages available, including signed limited edition posters, a 125-page Forced Perspective companion book, limited edition silk-screen prints, and more. In addition to the full-length film, the DVD/BluRay includes deleted scenes, a film premiere Q&A, behind-the-scenes footage, teaser vignettes, trailers, and more.