brittany williams

2019 WALL\THERAPY Recap

2019 WALL\THERAPY Recap

While we didn’t do one of our traditional WALL\THERAPY festivals, we were still busy all year long! Check out this recap of our biggest projects. In addition to these, we also did a number of tours, talks, and outreach throughout the year.

We want to thank everyone for your support of the WALL\THERAPY project and mission and we look forward to bring our July festival back once again for 2020, featuring a roster of Women, Femme, and Non-Binary artists. We look forward to sharing more with you about this in early 2020!

January 2019 – Inspired by Nathan Lyons: Collaboration between WALL\THERAPY and the George Eastman Museum

WT At GEM

In January 2019, WALL\THERAPY partnered with the George Eastman Museum to curate some external elements tied to their Nathan Lyons retrospective. Former WALL\THERAPY 2017 muralist Todd Stahl created one of his stellar assemblage pieces paying tribute to Nathan Lyons that was positioned just outside the exhibition, while local artists Nova, Yews, Ax, and Dellarious collaborated on an installation paying tribute to the city streets and walls that feature prominently in Lyons’ later works.

Nathan Lyons: In Pursuit of Magic
George Eastman Museum main galleries, January 25–June 9, 2019
Curated by Lisa Hostetler, Curator-in-Charge, Department of Photography and Jamie M. Allen, Associate Curator 

For more about the exhibition:  https://www.eastman.org/nathan-lyons-pursuit-magic

 

 

May 2019 – Moms Demand Action /  Students Demand Action

Through Tragedy There is Hope

Moms Demand Action  reached out to WALL\THERAPY to create a mural for National Gun Violence Awareness Day/Month. Completed in May 2019, This mural created by Brittany Williams -— titled “Through Tragedy, There’s Hope” — features an non-descript everyman, is dedicated to all we’ve lost through gun violence.

The mural was dedicated on June 8, 2019 and is located at Rocky’s Pizza, 810 Genesee St. .

For more information about National Gun Violence Awareness Month:

https://wearorange.org/

https://momsdemandaction.org/

https://everytown.org/studentsdemand/

Photo and Video by Jason Wilder

 

 

May 2019 – Renaissance Academy Charter School of the Arts

Nate Hodge at Renaissance Academy
The folks at Renaissance Academy Charter School of the Arts invited 2015 WALL\THERAPY muralist Nate Hodge to work with the graduating 6th grade students during the last few weeks of their school year on a mural inside the school.

Kindergartners thru 2nd grade provided some sketches about “how creativity makes them feel” which were integrated into the final painting. 5-6th graders also helped Nate with the painting.

We look forward to this as a yearly collaboration, as local #walltherapy artists will work with students each Spring to add a new mural to the school walls.

July 2019 This is Triumphant Music

This is Triumphant Music

This is Triumphant Music –  Mural by Sarah C. Rutherford, Justin Suarez, and Brittany Williams for WALL\THERAPY and the City of Rochester. July 2019.

WALL\THERAPY worked with the City of Rochester to bring new life and color to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park at Manhattan Square. The mural features portraits of three local, living musicians as painted by three local Rochester artists.

Moses Rockwell painted by Brittany Williams

Danielle Ponder painted by Sarah C. Rutherford

Mikaela Davis painted by Justin Suarez (aka Mr. Prvrt).

For more about the artists:

Sarah C Rutherford – https://hervoicecarries.blog

Justin Suarez – http://www.mrprvrt.com

Brittany Williams – https://www.instagram.com/bwilliamsart/

Moses Rockwell –  https://mosesrockwell.bandcamp.com/

Danielle Ponder –  https://daniellepondermusic.com/

Mikaela Davis – https://www.mikaeladavis.com/

This linked video was created by the folks at Captivate Media and shared with us to share with you!

 

 

August 2019 – Mural at the Skalny Childcare Center at the YMCA Schottland Family Branch

WT at YMCA

 

We worked with the YMCA of Greater Rochester to create a mural to inspire the children at the Skalny Childcare Center at the new YMCA Schottland Family Branch. WALL\THERAPY 2015 alum Matthew Roberts and longtime WT collaborator John Magnus Champlin worked together to create an exciting environment celebrating diversity, creativity, and the wonder of youth to inspire the next generation.

See a video about this project here:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=728668594227454

and read more about it here:

YMCA, WALLTHERAPY Collaboration Pays Homages to Past, Celebrates Future

 

 

October 2019 – Shannon Galpin

Shannon Galpin
Shannon Galpin
Shannon Galpin

We were fortunate to round out our year to facilitate a quick visit from Shannon Galpin. Shannon is a National Geographic Adventure of the Year and a Fellow with the Explorer’s Club who has spent the past decade working as a women’s rights activist in Afghanistan and a lifetime exploring the world as a solo adventurer. 

She installed two of her “Love Letters” murals – Notes from her stalker to expand the conversation of consent, love, harassment, and stalking in public places. They went up on State St at The Spirit Room and UUU Collective’s spaces. 

She also installed one other temporary installation, a climate justice Love Letter to Mother Earth, near High Falls

https://www.shannongalpin.com/#/stalked/

Upcoming Art Exhibit – JUST FOLKS – Ten Years of 1975 and WALL\THERAPY Curation

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1975 Just Folks - March2019

WALL\THERAPY Co-Curator and RIT alumni Erich S. Lehman is curating a second ten year anniversary group show, this time at RIT’s new City Art Space located in downtown Rochester. This show will feature 10 artists from his 1975 Gallery project as well as 10 artists from WALL\THERAPY’s history so far. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of artwork will be donated to this year’s WALL\THERAPY project. We hope you will be able to attend!

A list of the artists in attendance will be shared closer to the opening.

JUST FOLKS
Ten Years of 1975 and WALL\THERAPY Curation

March 1-23, 2019
Opening Reception March 1, 6-9pm
Artist Talk to follow

Free and open to the public

A companion exhibition to DEARLY DEPARTED – Ten Years of 1975 in October 2018, JUST FOLKS is a more formal retrospective of the influence of 1975 Gallery on Rochester, NY’s art scene since its inception in 2008. Among the selected artists is a group who grew/came of age with the gallery and emerged as names in their own right in Rochester and beyond. Overlapping with this is a selection of artists who participated in the WALL\THERAPY mural project whose impact on Rochester is seen on a daily basis. The artists selected represent important elements of 1975 curation over the last ten years.

“Just Folks” is a phrase coined between the curators of WALL\THERAPY to describe the power of the average person to make an incredible difference in their community. We are living in a time when it is essential to realize the common vein between us all and the capacity for great change that we share.

A percentage of all artwork sales will be donated to the WALL\THERAPY project.

BONES – Sarah Blood – Carter Burwell – DAZE – Chloe Early – Faith XLVII – Conor Harrington – HOWNOSM – Ian Kuali’i – Mike Ming – St. Monci – Don Pendleton – Mark Penxa – Faring Purth – David Schnuckel – Justin Suarez aka Mr. Prvrt – Sarah C. Rutherford – David Walker – Brittany Williams – Addam Yekutieli aka Know Hope

Curated by Erich S. Lehman.

For more about the artists:

1975
Bones – www.instagram.com/bones_tribute
Sarah Blood – www.sarahblood.com
Carter Burwell – www.instagram.com/carterburwellart
St. Monci – www.st.monci.com
Don Pendleton – www.elephont.com
Mark Penxa – www.markpenxa.com
David Schnuckel – www.davidschnuckel.com
Justin Suarez (aka Mr. Prvrt) – www.mrprvrt.com
Sarah C. Rutherford – www.sarahcrutherford.com
Brittany Williams – www.instagram.com/bwilliamsart

WALL\THERAPY
Daze – www.dazeworld.com
Chloe Early – www.chloeearly.com
FaithXLVII – www.faith47.com
Conor Harrington – www.conorharrington.com
HOW and NOSM – www.howandnosm.com
Ian Kuali’i – www.instagram.com/iankualii
Mike Ming – www.instagram.com/surfnuts195
Faring Purth – www.instagram.com/faringpurth
David Walker – www.artofdavidwalker.com
Addam Yekutieli aka Know Hope – www.thisislimbo.com

RSVP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/377435413067227/

RIT City Art Space
Sibley Tower Building
Entrance at Liberty Pole Plaza
280 East Main Street Rochester NY 14604
cityartspace.rit.edu

Regular Hours: Thursday – Sunday, 1-5pm

Parking:
Street Parking is free after 6pm and on Weekends.
Parking Garages available at Mortimer Street Garage or St. Joe’s Garage

WALL\THERAPY wraps up BELIEVE/BECOME with Urban Nation Berlin

WALL\THERAPY wraps up BELIEVE/BECOME with Urban Nation Berlin

It’s a wrap! In just six days the WALL\THERAPY crew laid down six human-scale murals and an immersive indoor installation as part of our Unite & Ignite international exchange with Urban Nation Berlin. The exhibition opened on Saturday, April 16 and runs until May 9.

Click on any of the images to open a larger version in a new window.

Final Murals 

Sarah C. Rutherford and Mr. Prvrt

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Cern

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Shawnee Hill

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Faring Purth

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Brittany Williams

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LNY

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Photos by Mark Deff (@markdeffphoto).

Indoor Installation

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Sarah C. Rutherford

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Faring Purth, Shawnee Hill, Brittany Williams

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Shawnee Hill

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Brittany Williams

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St. Monci

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LNY

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Cern

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Mr. PrvrtINSTALL_MRPRV_IMG_9978

Sarah C. Rutherford

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Cern, LNY, Faring Purth

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Work from the Believe/Become exhibit will be available for U.S. buyers in a few days. Those interested in purchasing work should contact sales@wall-therapy.com.

Photos above by Erich Lehman.

Believe/Become Opening 

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Photos above by Nika Kramer.

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Photos above by Mark Deff (@markdeffphoto).

The WALL\THERAPY team is sincerely grateful for the support we receive, without which it would be impossible to deliver inspirational mural art throughout Rochester, and now, abroad.

Thanks to our partner, URBAN NATION and Yasha Young for providing the space and opportunity to collaborate and create the Believe/Become concept and exhibit. WALL\THERAPY is incredibly grateful to have been able to work alongside new friends among the Urban Nation team including Elisabetta, Alejandra, Imed, Anna, Dennis and Roland–without your guidance and assistance, the successful execution of this project would not have been possible!

Big thanks go to photographers Olaf Heine and Nika Kramer for capturing the spirit of our artists and staff interactions.

It was great to see some WALL\THERAPY alumni, including Addison Karl, David Walker, Above, Onur Dinc and all the other new friends we made throughout the week. Special thanks go to Addison Karl for his wonderful hospitality–from providing delicious home-cooked meals and acting as a guide for the city–you made us feel right at home in Berlin.

To our contributing artists, who have honored us with their inventive and inspiring creations, whose belief in the healing power of art is reflected in their dedication to the work and kind regard for community members and staff, we thank you.

To our Believe/Become staff and photographer, who took time from their jobs to travel to Berlin in support of our project, you are the heart and soul of WALL\THERAPY.

Please visit our Facebook page to see even more galleries of this year’s event!

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WALL\THERAPY in the final days of prep for BELIEVE/BECOME opening at Urban Nation Berlin

WALL\THERAPY in the final days of prep for BELIEVE/BECOME opening at Urban Nation Berlin

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As the week flies by, the WALL\THERAPY crew keeps pushing toward completion of our exhibit at Urban Nation Berlin, with the opening tomorrow, Saturday, April 16.

BELIEVE/BECOME draws a line between the first WALL\THERAPY project’s theme of “Believe”–the belief in the power of art and individual expression to serve as a catalyst for inspiration in the communities in which we work–and the progress over the last five years toward realization of our goals: If you believe it, you become it. With “Become,” WALL\THERAPY brings to light issues close to the artists, from those with global impact to those affecting their own local communities.

Murals at Urban Nation

During the first part of the week, the crew was focused on laying down six human-scale murals on walls outside of the UN Production Offices.

Sarah C. Rutherford & Mr. Prvrt

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Cern

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Shawnee Hill

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Maria, Faring Purth

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Brittany Williams

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Neo Colonialism/Decolonización, LNY

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While most of our time in Berlin has been spent making the BELIEVE/BECOME exhibit a true representation of the spirit of WALL\THERAPY, the crew has gotten to enjoy some down time, too. A group dinner in the Kruezberg neighborhood at Kimchi Princess, courtesy of Urban Nation, a home-cooked meal with past WALL\THERAPY artist Addison Karl and a group outing to the nearby Bauhaus Archive all helped keep the group grounded and relaxed, and gave us a taste of local life in our home for the week.

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As the opening draws closer, we turn our attention indoors. Sarah Rutherford and St. Monci are both creating installations, all of the artists will exhibit studio work, and some special surprises are also in the works.

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Keep up to date on the BELIEVE/BECOME exhibit by visiting this site and following the WALL\THERAPY social media channels:

Search hashtag #believebecome
Facebook: facebook.com/walltherapyny
Instagram: @walltherapyny
Twitter: @walltherapyny

Snapchat: @walltherapyny

Learn more about Urban Nation by visiting their site or following them on their social media channels:

Online: www.urban-nation.net
Facebook: facebook.com/urbannationberlin
Instagram: @urbannationberlin

 

All photos by Mark Deff (@markdeffphoto).

WALL\THERAPY’s Believe/Become exhibit starts to take shape…Artist Talk with Urban Nation tonight!

WALL\THERAPY’s Believe/Become exhibit starts to take shape…Artist Talk with Urban Nation tonight!

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WALL\THERAPY artists and staff have arrived in Berlin! The crew spent its first 24 hours exploring neighborhoods, checking out murals and catching up with local alumni artists and friends Addison Karl and David Walker.

WALL\THERAPY crew at Urban Nation Berlin
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Monday marked the crew’s first day at Urban Nation. The artists quickly oriented to their new home base, grabbed their cans and brushes and headed out to spend the first half of their week on the outdoor portion of the BELIEVE/BECOME exhibit.

Brittany Williams and LNY
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Faring Purth

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Shawnee Hill

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Cern and Mr. Prvrt

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The artists will continue to rock out their murals today. Later tonight, they’ll take part in the WALL\THERAPY x Urban Nation Artist Talk. If you’re in the area, be sure to swing by Urban Nation at 7 p.m. to check it out!

WALL\THERAPY x URBAN NATION Artist Talk
Tuesday, April 12, 7-9pm
Urban Nation Production Office
Bülowstraße 97 // 10738 Berlin-Schöneberg
Join the visiting artists for a conversation about muralism and community, speaking from their experiences with WALL\THERAPY and other localized projects as well as the impact Street Art has had on their home towns and own lives. We’ll also discuss the importance of cultural exchanges, and offer a glimpse into their personal work that will be exhibited at the opening reception this Saturday.
The talk will be lead by Erich Lehman, co-curator of WALL \ THERAPY, introducing these wonderful artists to the Berlin community:

Cern Wonder
Shawnee R M Hill
LNY
MR. PRVRT
Faring Purth
Sarah Rutherford
St. Monci
Brittany Williams
All photos by Mark Deff.

WALL\THERAPY brings a touch of Rochester to Berlin

WALL\THERAPY brings a touch of Rochester to Berlin

This spring, WALL\THERAPY will pack up its cans, brushes and paints and head across the pond to a city that has seen a flowering of street art and graffiti, and echoes the project’s guiding principle of the transformative power of art in our communities.

Following Urban Nation’s guest co-curation of our 2015 festival, WALL\THERAPY will bring the spirit of its five-year project to Berlin, Germany, spending a week creating an indoor/outdoor exhibit with Urban Nation.

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The event, entitled BELIEVE/BECOME, is the 10th edition of Urban Nation’s UNITE & IGNITE International Exchange Program. Named in part for WALL\THERAPY’s very first mural, BELIEVE/BECOME showcases the talents of a subset of WALL\THERAPY muralists, using their work to bring light to issues close to them, from those with global impact to those affecting their own local communities.

For the week of April 10-17, 2016, the artists will immerse themselves in Urban Nation’s Schoeneberg-Berlin neighborhood, starting their visit by working on a series of “human-scale” murals surrounding the Urban Nation offices, offering the artists a chance to interact with the adjacent community. WALL\THERAPY and Urban Nation will host a community discussion on the evening of Tuesday, April 12, examining the role of art in the public sphere as well as the evolving roles of mural festivals and institutions in the Street Art movement. These discussions will then be reflected in the group’s installation within the Urban Nation offices, culminating in an exhibit that will open on Saturday, April 16.

The project will serve as the second half of the international exchange program between Rochester and Berlin, launched in July 2015 in Rochester. Eight artists, who have all participated in past WALL\THERAPY events, have been invited to contribute to the program, curated by Ian Wilson (founder, co-curator) and Erich Lehman (co-curator, lead organizer).

Click on any of the images to open a larger version in a new window.

Artist Roster

Cern (New York, N.Y.)

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Photo provided by Artist

Shawnee Hill (Rochester, N.Y.)

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Photo by Jason Wilder

LNY (Newark, N.J.)

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Mr. Prvrt (Rochester, N.Y.)

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Faring Purth (St. Louis, Mo.)

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Sarah C. Rutherford (Rochester, N.Y.)

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St. Monci (Rochester, N.Y.)

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Brittany Williams (Rochester, N.Y.)

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Community members can get updates and track the artists’ progress by visiting this site and following the WALL\THERAPY social media channels:
Facebook: facebook.com/walltherapyny
Instagram: @walltherapyny
Twitter: @walltherapyny

Learn more about Urban Nation by visiting their site or following them on their social media channels:

Online: www.urban-nation.net
Facebook: facebook.com/urbannationberlin
Instagram: @urbannationberlin