Works by artists who participate in HAI’s Arts Workshop Program will be shown in a lively and diverse series of exhibitions during winter 2001 through spring 2002. These works are made possible by professional artists who establish studio environments in mental health facilities around New York City, sharing their skills and engaging mentally ill New Yorkers in the healing activity of creating art.

An exhibit featuring the work of current workshop participants, including paintings and drawings by Thomas Hall, Bernard Higgins, Michael Hurley, Eloise Ockert, Adeyinka Perry, and Laura Walker, is on display at HAI in a holiday art show.

HAI will take advantage of the flood of Outsider Art aficionados in town for the Tenth Annual Outsider Art Fair, held at the Puck Building during the last weekend of January, by opening Bigger and Closer in HAI’s offices. Among the works to be featured will be Melvin “Milky” Way’s tiny, densely illustrated cryptograms that resemble chemical formulas.His work was recently featured in the spring 2001 issue of Raw Vision, international journal of Outsider Art. Rodney Thornblad, another featured artist, has just completed a drawing of a major medieval battle panorama, 36” x 72”, replete with minutely detailed figures. Thornblad says of the art-making process: “I draw because it gives me fulfillment. I feel very good about exhibiting my work. It helps me get notoriety with my drawings so other people can see it. It helps me mentally and spiritually, too.”

Frank Palazzolo, Senior Artist teaching in HAI’s workshop program, and Betty Marks, program director, will curate Bigger and Closer. According to Palazzolo, “With this group of consumers as artists, my role has not been as a traditional art teacher. My job has more to do with offering them a sense of independence and opportunities to articulate their views of the world. Of the participants I have worked with, Rodney Thornblad and Irene Phillips are the clearest examples of what I mean. They have come the furthest and made the most of my and HAI’s role in the outsider community.” Drawings by Ray Hamilton, Mercedes Jamison, Irene Phillips, and Frances “Lady Shalimar” Montague will also be on exhibit. Bigger and Closer will open with a reception on January 24th.

Immediately following Bigger and Closer, an exhibition running from February 4th to March 10th in the Lowe Gallery at Hudson Guild, 441 West 26th Street, in Manhattan will feature art from HAI. Jim Furlong, director of visual, video, and theater programs at the Guild, will curate. Furlong has chosen to present the works of HAI Outsider artists in conjunction with a play based on the book, Mary Barnes: Two Accounts of a Journey through Madness, an autobiography that recounts the life of an English woman whose symptoms of mental illness were eased when she began painting. Monique Fagan Smith, a participant in the HAI Saturday Art Program, will create the stage set for the play with a presentation of her paintings.

In April, HAI will host the Morningside Westside Community Action Corporation’s annual fund-raising event, including a silent auction of art by HAI’s workshop participants from many mental health organizations. Proceeds from the sale will be shared by the corporation and the individual artists. Nancy Waldor, the dynamic force behind this mental health advocacy group, said about the event, “HAI’s great space will enhance our annual fund raiser, bringing it to another level.”

According to Betty Marks, “Each of these exhibits provides opportunities for mental health consumers to celebrate their achievements in a concrete way. The exhibits also manifest the mission of HAI’s programs - to dispel the stigma society places onto people with mental illness and to share the joys of participating in making art with people with disabilities.”