If you're an Austin local, you've probably passed by Daniel Johnston's "Hi, How Are You?" mural at Guadalupe and 21st Street countless times. You know the one: Jeremiah the Innocent, a squatting frog, is roughly painted below the question "Hi, How Are You," as he is on Johnston's 1983 album that the artist and musician produced during a nervous breakdown. Now a local foundation wants every Austinite to ask themselves that question on January 22, dubbed "Hi, How Are You?" Day.
“I can’t believe that ‘Jeremiah the Innocent’ has been staring us in the face all this time and no one has thought about the true meaning,” says Tom Gimbel, co-founder of the “Hi, How Are You?” (HHAY) Foundation, which strives to generate conversation around mental well-being. Gimbel and fellow co-founder Courtney Blanton created the upcoming mental wellness day—a celebration of music, art and community—as a way to get people to think about their own mental health, as well as the health of their neighbors and friends. Held at the Mohawk, the evening will feature music from Moving Panoramas, Kathy McCarty, Cowboy Diplomacy and more, as well as art from Daniel Johnston, David Thornberry and Miguel Rangel, among others. See the full lineup poster below:
Tickets ($10-$50) to the event, which starts at 6:30pm with a VIP art sale and cocktail hour, can be purchased here. And if you can't make it? Take a moment out of your day to ask yourself—and your neighbors, co-workers and friends—how they're doing. It could mean more than you know.