Exhibition

“Let Grow” is an exhibition of work by second-year MPS Art Therapy students and their clients. Curated by Liz DelliCarpini, internship coordinator for MPS Art Therapy, the exhibition will be on view Saturday, February 15, through Saturday, March 15, at SVA Flatiron Gallery, 133/141 West 21st Street, New York City. (The gallery is closed Friday, March 7, for a staff holiday.) Admission is free and open to the public.

For this exhibition, multimedia student work is paired with client work to illustrate the dynamic nature of “letting go.” MPS Art Therapy chair Deborah Farber explains: “The exhibition of client art paired with student art affirms the clients as artists, which strengthens both the creative and therapeutic process.” Student internships are in collaboration with Bronx Lebanon Hospital, Riker’s Island, Kings County Hospital, FEGS, Montefiore Medical Center and Hudson Guild, as well as many other organizations in and around the New York City area.

“We all have things to let go of—insecurities, negative thoughts, fears, assumptions, stereotypes and unhealthy relationships, to name a few,” says DelliCarpini. “While letting go can be difficult and uncomfortable, it opens up space to cultivate new ways of being in the world. 

“The art therapist uses creative processes to facilitate this growth, while the gallery acts as an inclusive environment. For those who have been marginalized, experiencing a sense of belonging can allow for restricting identities to be let go of and unseen capacities to be realized.”

MPS Art Therapy at SVA equips students with a strong clinical foundation, intensive training in studio art and in-depth study of art therapy principles and practices, contemporary theories of psychological development and the nature of creativity. Fundamental to the program is the concept that the art therapist and client work together and thus affect each other’s growth.