
August 27–November 8, 2024
Hours | Tu-Sa 1-5pm, Th 1-8pm, Su 10am-5pm

EVENTS IN THE GALLERIES
Opening Reception | Saturday, September 14, 1–3pm
Peer Grief Support Groups | Friday, September 27 at 3pm & Sunday, October 27 at 11am
Peer Grief Support Facilitated Tour | Sunday, October 6 at 1pm
Artist/author talk with Jarrett J. Krosoczka on his graphic memoir Hey Kiddo | Tuesday, October 8 at 6pm
Drug Addiction: Real People, Real Stories Massachusetts is dedicated to the memory of Jessica Duggan.
We would like to thank the many individuals and organizations that have contributed to this exhibition. Their belief and encouragement provided the support necessary to make this exhibition a reality.
INTO LIGHT is a national project documenting the tragic loss of human life to the disease of addiction and educating the public on the topic. One exhibition is being mounted in each state, uniquely presenting up to 41 lives locally lost to addiction, overdose, and drug poisoning. The Massachusetts exhibition is hosted at Wheaton College.
The exhibition at Wheaton represents the state of Massachusetts and marks the tenth INTO LIGHT Project exhibition.
Through storytelling and art, INTO LIGHT combats the myth of drug addiction as a choice and the stigma of overdose as a moral failure. Each thoughtfully written life story, based on interviews with surviving loved ones, is accompanied by an original graphite portrait. The black and white of the graphite serves as an intentional metaphor for the fact that every life includes both light and dark moments. Looking only at the darkest times in a person’s life does not fully represent who they are.
The number of deaths due to overdose or drug poisoning in the U.S. in 2023 were estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to number 109,000. Essentially, each portrait in this exhibition represents another 65 people who died in the state of Massachusetts and 2,658 people who died from drug overdose or poisoning in the United States in 2023.
Getting to know the individuals depicted here, seeing their faces and learning about their lives, is one step toward restoring our collective humanity. Our hope is that in viewing this exhibition you will advocate for the dignity of those who become addicted to drugs and for their right to medical treatment, that you will learn to combat stigma about addiction and overdose, and that you will find resources to make decisions that will keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy.
SPONSORS
The family and friends of Bernadette Brierley, mother of Jessica Duggan
First Parish Church of Norwell, MA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to Support After a Death by Overdose (SADOD) and the Sun Will Rise Foundation for partnering with us on this exhibition and offering your support and resources to those impacted by the death of someone due to substance use related causes.
A special thank you to INTO LIGHT Project Massachusetts ambassador Becky Smock for helping to make this exhibition possible.
Thank you to the contributing artists Theresa Clower, Shawn Faust, Jeremy Hebbel, and Elizabeth Jones.
Thank you to the contributing narrative writers: Barbara Francois, Angela Day, Victoria Estes, Lynn McKnight, Lynne Mixson, and Justin Roberston.