Evan Bishop and Katori Walker, artists

“What one word would you give to the youth to carry with them throughout life?”

This question was asked to mature adults ranging in age from 60 to 102 years young. Their rich oral histories were captured and presented through the media of vibrant body art and candid photographs.

“This unique photo exhibit was inspired by the desire to use our artistic talents to empower elders while educating young people. The photos force us to take notice of the flawed beauty of the aging body while appreciating the graffiti-inspired body art,” says Bronx-born artist Evan Bishop, who was awarded the ArtsWestchester 2017 Arts Alive Individual Artist grant for this project. “We wanted to celebrate their lives and show them that their stories matter.” He painted original body art on 141 senior citizens while his girlfriend and artist, Katori Walker, interviewed and photographed them. Each participant selected an original word, the colors and location of the body art. With the help of fellow artists Barry Mason and Lance Johnson, the exhibit exceeded the grant expectations.

The 100 WOW (Words of Wisdom) Exhibit features the participation of immigrants, veterans, politicians, educators, artisans, community leaders, retired healthcare practitioners, civil servants as well as current business professionals. These participants reside in all five boroughs of New York City, fourteen municipalities in Westchester, as well as New Jersey and Massachusetts. The list includes record-breaking track star 102-year-old Ida Keeling, NY State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins, world-renown Jazz drummer Louis Hayes, ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam, Katori’s grandmother Thelma Jenkins, Evan’s mother, Charlotte Bishop and even his high school football coach, Jerome Horowitz.

Sponsored by 

The Fine Art Program and Collection at Montefiore and Einstein 

Expressions of Clinician Well-Being

An Exhibition in Partnership with The National Academy of Medicine

Expressions of Clinician Well-Being collects insights directly from clinicians, patients, loved ones, and organizations working to prevent burnout andpromote well-being. By allowing people to creatively express their experiences with burnout, this gallery captures critical moments in the journey to well-being. The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), a nonprofit research organization in Washington, DC, called on artists of all skills and abilities to express what clinician burnout and clinician resilience/well-being looks, sounds, and feels like to them. The purpose of Expressions of Clinician Well-Beingis to promote greater awareness and understandingof barriers to clinician well-being—and solutions that promise a brighter future.

This project is a part of the NAM’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, which is committed to reversing trends in clinician burnout by improving baseline understanding of the challenges to clinician well-being, raising the visibility of clinician stress and burnout, and elevating evidence-based, multidisciplinary solutions that will improve patient care by caring for the caregiver.We hope this art will offer an entry point for conversations that can be difficult to have and shed light on the joys and challenges experienced by so many. We hope that the stories captured through this art will allow you to more fully understand why clinician well-being is so essential to the vitality of our health system. Clinician well-being is essential for everyone. It’s time to take care of those who take care of us.

Our Stories is an exhibition that brings together autobiographical paintings of self-taught artists who have been an integral part of ArTech, a non-profit art studio in the Bronx.  In this exhibition, 26 artists have expressed their life experiences, culture, and personal influences through a variety of mediums. A common thread that emerges is a raw, natural, and instinctive approach, very similar to traditional Folk art. Furthermore, one can sense the vivacity and assuredness of each artist to the theme of the exhibition Our Stories.

ArTech is a Bronx-based community arts center, operated by the nonprofit, AHRC New York City, located at the Howie Stone Adult Day Center.  ArTech offers professional, artist lead classes in drawing, painting, photography and cutting-edge technology such as digital art and virtual reality. Their mission is to not only provide a professional studio environment for self-taught artists, but also contribute to the rich arts and culture community of the Bronx. The ultimate goal of ArTech is for every member to have access to gallery representation and become recognized and respected artists of The Bronx.

“All of us have a story within us that adds to the

narrative of the community.”

– Dhanashree Gadiyar, Program Manager, ArTech

CANVASING THE NEIGHBORHOOD:

Exploring Community with the young artists of Foster Pride

 What happens when Foster Pride (a non-profit which mentors children and teens in the foster care system) collaborates with former Amazing Race contestant London Kaye (who just happens to be a renown crochet artist)?  CANVASING THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Exploring Community with the Young Artists of Foster Pride, a new exhibition of paintings, pictures, photos and unique “yarn bomb” installations, created especially for The ARTViews Gallery of the Fine Art Program.

“Community has a special meaning for children in foster care who have been uprooted from their families, friends, schools, and familiar routines,” says Foster Pride Founder and Executive Director, Lynn Schnurnberger. “What’s so inspiring about the exhibition is how, through art, children and teens not only gain life skills and build self-esteem, but they garner a vehicle for expressing their stories.” Foster children are an extremely vulnerable population. Fifty percent of youth in foster care never graduate high school, and 7 out of 10 end up homeless. Foster Pride, which was named “One of NYC’s 4 Top Charities” by CBS.com, helps these children beat the odds. Foster Pride students go on to graduate two and four-year college programs; their art work has been exhibited in prestigious locations, such as the Lever House Gallery and Rockefeller Center; and, the young teenage women in Foster Pride’s HandMade program not only learn how to crochet, but they also run a small business selling their unique creations.

The youth in Foster Pride programs are particularly excited about this chance to show their work at Montefiore. “My dad was in the hospital here a little while ago,” said Javion, age 9. “I think he would have liked to see all this happy artwork. I hope all the families who are here now do too.”

ARTViews Curator Jodi Moise knows they will. “The ARTViews Gallery hosts exhibitions that recognize and celebrate the visual artists of the Bronx,” she says. “When I first learned about Foster Pride and how they use art as a vehicle to build their student’s confidence and independence I felt it was very important to share their work with the Medical Center’s audience. The students—all with Bronx connections—are so talented, the exhibition is captivating! I am very pleased to feature their work for all of our patients, caregivers, physicians, students and the community to enjoy.”

Sponsored by The Fine Art Program and Collection at Montefiore Einstein

Exhibition site can be found here.  

For more information about the exhibition, click here.

Artist statement can be found here.

For more information on this exhibition, click here.

Artist statement can be found here.

For more information about this exhibition, click here.

Artist statement can be found here.

For more information on this exhibition, click here.

Exhibition statement can be found here.

For more information about the exhibition, click here.

Artist statement can be found here.

For more information on this exhibition, click here.

Exhibition statement can be found here.

For more information about the exhibition, click here.