It’s Up 2 You! Diabetes Exhibit at the Coit Museum of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
The Coit Museum of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is bringing a new perspective to conversations around diabetes with the addition of the It’s Up 2 You! comic book exhibit, now on display as part of its rotating exhibits. Blending art, culture, and health education, the exhibit introduces visitors to diabetes awareness through a format that is both engaging and accessible.
The exhibit was originally developed through a collaboration at the Arizona State Museum, where community members, educators, and university representatives came together to make a traveling health exhibit more locally relevant. During planning meetings for the Through the Eyes of the Eagle: Illustrating Healthy Living exhibit, community members expressed a desire for materials that reflected familiar environments and would resonate with older students. In response, the Arizona State Museum Head of Community Engagement and Curator of Education, Lisa Falk, partnered with local Native American artist and educator Ryan Huna Smith to create a comic book focused on diabetes awareness and prevention.
To shape the story, Falk and Smith worked directly with local Native American and Hispanic teens, learning about their understanding of diabetes and what types of storytelling would capture their attention. The result was It’s Up 2 You!, a comic book centered around Samantha, a teenage skateboarder who encourages her friends to make healthier choices. The story blends everyday experiences with cultural perspectives, including a dream sequence featuring a Tohono O’odham elder who connects traditional ways of living with long-term health and the realities of diabetes.
“The goal was to present a diabetes awareness project to a younger audience in a way that would be easy for them to understand,” Smith said. “We gathered feedback from youth in the community to help shape the comic, especially since diabetes is not always an engaging topic to talk about.”
The comic highlights communities that are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes, including O’odham, Hispanic, and Yaqui populations, while emphasizing that prevention and lifestyle choices are within reach. It concludes with clear, educational messaging, including facts and common myths about diabetes, reinforcing the idea that small, intentional choices can have a lasting impact.
Matt Peters, who reviewed It’s Up 2 You! through the field of graphic medicine, highlights how the comic addresses type 2 diabetes in a way that is both accessible and culturally grounded, particularly in communities that are disproportionately affected. His review emphasizes that the story reflects real risk factors such as physical inactivity and diet, while also connecting health to community and tradition through the inclusion of an ancestral figure who encourages a return to more active, traditional ways of living. Peters also notes that the comic uses clear, concise dialogue and a stylized art approach that makes it engaging for a wide range of readers, helping communicate important health information in a format that feels approachable rather than clinical.
The project quickly expanded beyond a single comic. The artwork was enlarged into a full exhibit and displayed alongside the original traveling exhibition, eventually reaching more than 50,000 viewers across Arizona and California. Thousands of printed copies were distributed to students, schools, and community organizations, and a digital version of the comic was developed with audio in English, Spanish, and Tohono O’odham.
Now, the exhibit has found a new home at the Coit Museum, where it continues to educate visitors while connecting to broader conversations around pharmacy, health, and disease prevention.
Heather Ingram, director of the Coit Museum of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
“I worked at Arizona State Museum from 2002 to 2006 as an Education Program Coordinator and from 2015 to 2020 as Assistant Director of Education,” said Heather Ingram, director of the Coit Museum of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “We are grateful to Arizona State Museum for letting us care for the display and adding it to our rotating exhibits roster.”
Because the exhibit was originally designed for a different space and audience, its installation at the Coit Museum required thoughtful adaptation. Coit Museum Curatorial Intern Violet Brooks played a key role in reworking the exhibit to align with the museum’s layout and mission.
“This particular exhibit was one that was retired from the Arizona State Museum and given to us to display,” Brooks said. “Because it is an exhibit meant for another space and goal, my job was to rework it to fit our space and our mission.”
Brooks carefully evaluated which panels to include, selecting pieces that would best complement the museum’s existing content while preserving the integrity of the original exhibit. She also identified opportunities to integrate additional educational elements that connect the comic’s themes to the museum’s focus on pharmaceutical sciences.
“One of our biggest considerations was how to tie the It’s Up 2 You! exhibit in with our display on diabetes that we are in the process of curating,” Brooks said. “Since it is so stylistically specific, we worked to find ways to connect our collection pieces with the art from the exhibit.”
Arizona State Museum Preparator Ruben Moreno also assisted with assembling and installing the exhibit. “The exhibit panels were already in an order according to their original script, so it was just a matter of making them fit and look presentable in the space we had to work with,” Moreno said. “The main challenge was the limited space, but with a little brainstorming, it turned out to be a perfect fit.”
The layout of the exhibit was designed to guide visitors through both scientific and narrative perspectives. Visitors are first introduced to a display of objects from the museum’s collection that relate to diabetes and its treatment, arranged to show the progression from early remedies to more modern developments such as synthetic insulin. From there, the exhibit transitions into the comic panels, which are displayed in sequence to follow the storyline.
This structure allows visitors to move between historical, scientific, and cultural perspectives, reinforcing the educational message through multiple formats. The visual style of the comic, paired with the museum’s artifacts, creates a cohesive experience that appeals to a wide audience.
Additional elements are currently being added to expand the exhibit, including a display case featuring related collection items and a panel detailing the discovery of insulin. These additions will further connect the comic’s message to the scientific advancements that have shaped diabetes treatment.
“We invite you, whether you are a first-time or returning visitor, to stop by on our open days or schedule a Tuesday/Thursday tour,” said Ingram.
The It’s Up 2 You! exhibit continues to highlight the importance of accessible health education and the role that community-driven storytelling can play in shaping awareness. By combining art, culture, and science, the exhibit encourages visitors to reflect on how everyday choices impact long-term health.
“I’ve seen so many young people on the reservation living with diabetes, some needing canes or using wheelchairs,” Smith said. “It’s something that really sticks with you, and it’s why making better choices about health and staying active is so important.”