INTO LIGHT Project (ILP) (intolightproject.org) is a non-profit organization that creates public exhibitions of original graphite portraits and narratives of individuals lost to substance use disorder (SUD), overdose and drug poisoning. ILP’s mission is to eliminate the stigma and negative stereotypes about drug addiction and educate the public that addiction is a treatable disease.

INTO LIGHT’s goal is to hold an exhibition in every state in the U.S. So far, INTO LIGHT has held nine state exhibitions, with five currently in development. INTO LIGHT chooses only one location in each state to hold this educational exhibition. We would like UT Austin to be the one to hold this powerful exhibition.

Statistics show that every day, in the United States, 190 people are lost to SUD and opioid related deaths. This has to stop. We all know Texans who have died of overdoses, substance used disorder (SUD) deaths or drug poisonings. If you would like to see this exhibit displayed on the University of Texas at Austin campus to spread awareness about the current epidemic our community faces, please sign the petition to bring this vital initiative to UT Austin and our great state of Texas. 

The project accepts 41 submissions on a first come-first served basis to create original graphite portraits and accompanying narratives of people from Texas who have died from substance use disorder related causes. The exhibition is visited by local schools, law enforcement, healthcare providers, university classes, and others. By supporting this exhibit for Texas, you can submit someone you know that has died from overdose, SUD, or drug poisoning. There is no cost for submission, and the original framed portraits and a book of narratives are gifted to those who submit at the end of the exhibition.

The graphite portrait and narrative shown in this petition image is of Devin Hart Bearden who died of an accidental overdose of drugs containing fentanyl in February 2018 at the age of 32. Devin was the original inspiration for the INTO LIGHT PROJECT after his mother, Theresa Clower, sat in grief to draw her son one last time following his death. Now these powerful exhibits can be seen all over the country celebrating the lives of the deceased, highlighting the tragedy of addiction through art and storytelling, and educating the public about the disease of addiction.

If you have any questions, contact Natalie Peyton, INTO LIGHT’S Ambassador for Texas, who joined the organization after seeing her late fiancé, Robert Joseph Weisz (Bobby) in the ILP California exhibit. Bobby died at the age of 27, in January of 2021, due to fentanyl poisoning.

npeyton@intolightproject.org