Yayoi Kusama has long struggled with mental health issues.

Kusama: Infinity will be screening at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema next week, offering a rare glimpse at the woman behind the polka-dots. The legendary artist behind the wildly popular “Infinity Mirrors” spent three decades in a Tokyo psychiatric hospital, and used art therapy as a means of coping with a traumatic past. Now the top-selling female artist in the world, the film takes you through her humble beginnings in Japan, her meteoric rise through the art world in spite of the sexist and racist gate-keeping, her stint in NYC pop-art movement, and her fantastic legacy in a body of work that continues to evolve (she’s in her 80s). 

As part of the Mental Health Film Series, Hot Docs is FREE docs-and-conversations about mental health leading up to and on the 10th annual Bell Let’s Talk Day. The film will be followed by a Q&A with special guests and subject matter experts. Screening takes place on Jan. 15th at 6:30 p.m. Find out more here.