Exhibition

February 11 - March 17, 2012
Reception: Thursday, March 1, 6 - 8pm

School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents “See My Voice, Hear My Vision,” an exhibition of selected work by students in the MPS Art Therapy Department and the clients they work with at their internship sites.

Students in the MPS Art Therapy Department work at internships at Bellevue Hospital Center, Riker’s Island, The Foundling Hospital and Hudson Guild, as well as many other locations in and around the New York City area. In “See My Voice, Hear My Vision,” student work is displayed with client work to illustrate the communication between client, therapist and viewer. In this context, the art therapist’s role is viewed as one supporting clients in developing and expressing their artistic voice, first in the therapeutic setting and then expanding to the gallery space. The intention is to provide an opportunity for the individual to be heard in the larger community and to be seen outside of constricting labels and identities. The multimedia work on display highlights each client’s unique vision.

Deborah Farber, chair of the MPS Art Therapy Department, explains, “The exhibition of client art paired with student art affirms the clients as artists, which strengthens both the creative and therapeutic processes.”

The MPS Art Therapy Department equips students with a strong clinical foundation, combined with intensive training in studio art, 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 can affect each other’s growth.