VOLUNTEER |
| DONATE |
| CONTACT US |
| STAY INFORMED: join our email list |
From the Arts of Recovery
The Arts of Recovery & Artists in Recovery:
Two Exhibitions, One Artists Reception
Joint Artists Reception: Saturday, September 6,
2 to 4 PM
Newhouse Gallery &
Art Lab, Inc.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center
1000 Richmond Terrace,
Staten Island
J. Leone , "Volcano Land " 2006 watercolor
The Verrazano Foundation
In collaboration with
Snug Harbor Cultural Center
South Beach Psychiatric Center
Art Lab, Inc.
presents
The Arts of Recovery:
Collaborations between Nancy Manter, Ann Marie McDonnell
and artists living with mental Illness
September 6 thru October 17, 2008
Newhouse Gallery
At Snug Harbor Cultural Center
&
The Verrazano Foundation
In collaboration with
Staten Island Mental Health Council
South Beach Psychiatric Center
presents
Artists in Recovery:
Selections from Staten Island & Beyond
September 6 thru September 30, 2008
Art Lab Gallery
At Snug Harbor Cultural Center
1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island
Two exhibitions of work by artists living with mental illness open on the grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center on September 6. In the Newhouse Gallery, the sixth annual Arts of Recovery features collaborations between professional artists and artists living with mental Illness. The exhibition is accompanied by video and photographs documenting the creative process. At the Art Lab, the first Artists in Recovery exhibit presents a selection of artworks assembled from an open call to artists living with mental illness in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey.
The Arts of Recovery 2008 features collaborations from workshops led by Ann Marie McDonnell and Nancy Manter. In Nancy’s workshop, Weather/Imagination, participants worked with inks, acrylics, markers and oil pastels on layers of Mylar to create the weather of the mind. In Ann Marie’s workshop, Past, Present and Future, participants used printmaking to create books exploring their personal journeys through time.
Artists in Recovery is presented by The Verrazano Foundation in collaboration with the Staten Island Mental Health Council and South Beach Psychiatric Center. The exhibition at the Art Lab will continue through September 30.
The Arts of Recovery, presented by The Verrazano Foundation in collaboration with Snug Harbor Cultural Center, South Beach Psychiatric Center, and the Art Lab, is supported in part by a grant from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and by an Encore Grant from the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island, with public funding from the New York State Council on the Arts. Additional funding is provided by The Staten Island Foundation, the Richmond County Savings Foundation, and Councilman Michael E. McMahon. The exhibition in the Newhouse Gallery at Snug Harbor will continue through October 17.
From the Arts of Recovery
Coming to South Beach June 13:
The Arts of Recovery Retrospective
From Women by Beatrice Exelberth
Presented by The Verrazano Foundation in collaboration with Snug Harbor Cultural Center, South Beach Psychiatric Center, and the Art Lab, the Arts of Recovery 2007 is made possible in part by an Encore Grant from the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island, with public funding from the New York State Council on the Arts. Additional support is provided by The Staten Island Foundation, Independence Community Foundation, Richmond County Savings Foundation, Verizon Foundation, and Councilman Michael E. McMahon.
From the Tools of Recovery
The Verrazano Foundation Spearheads Charter School Planning
VF President Ken Byalin with Hughes
Hubbard attornies. Photo courtesy of
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
From the Business of Recovery
Verrazano Careers Offers Mentoring Workshop:
Verrazano Careers, sponsored by The Verrazano Foundation in collaboration with the New York City Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD), presents seminars for people living with mental illnesses interested in exploring career options. Previous workshops have focused on careers in mental health and human services and in visual arts. Planning is now underway for a workshop for people interested in business careers.
From Bearing Witness
Deborah Max's I'm not angry, but sometimes I forget that
Most days I don’t feel like a mental patient. In itself that might not seem like an odd statement, but when you examine my history or simply the fact that it’s my predisposition to insanity that pays my bills, you might expect that I’d wear crazy year round.
From the Spirit of Recovery
"By practicing awareness, by being aware of feelings without reacting, just being aware of fear or anger or the tendency to energetic action, I found over a long period of time, that I could ride the wave of fear without reacting and without re-focusing."
Pushing the Envelope!
2007 was a year of challenges and a year of progress both in our arts initiatives and in our development of a charter school that will provide an arts-focused, college-preparatory education to a population composed primarily of students living with emotional disorders.
The John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School will be located on Staten Island, will serve students in grades 6 through 12, and will eventually serve 450 students a year. Without the option which Lavelle Prep will provide, many of these students will be forced into hostile educational environments where they face intolerance from peers and discouragement from faculty. Not surprisingly, these young people often fail to realize their potential, leave school without graduating, and are unable to find appropriate employment. By providing a secure and supportive environment in which to learn and by equipping students with the tools they need to self-manage the potentially disabling challenges they face, Lavelle Prep will enable students to succeed in high school, college, and beyond.
To make Lavelle Prep a reality is a daunting task. While the idea of recovery, -- that people living with mental illnesses can learn to self-manage their disabilities and become constructive members of society, -- gains wider acceptance annually in mental health programs for adults, the idea of recovery remains virtually unknown among providers of children’s mental health services and unheard of in education. As we brought this idea forward, designing a school around it, we faced resistance from educational bureaucrats anxious to minimize the failures of Special Education programs for young people living with emotional disorders. We also found some wonderful support. Staten Island’s elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, have rallied around our concept, supported our initiative, and helped to open doors. Although initially skeptical of our vision, the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence is now an important source of support and has given us a $50,000 planning grant. And we are winning over the New York City Department of Education which has reviewed our program concept and invited us to submit a charter application.