Counseling In Schools Celebrates 'A Night of Art and Healing' Highlighting Vital Emotional Support Services for New York City Public School Students and Families

NEW YORK, May 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Counseling In Schools (CIS), the non-profit organization that has placed mental health professionals in New York City schools and homeless shelters for 35 years, will host "A Night of Art and Healing," a one-hour virtual event on Tuesday, May 18 at 7:00 p.m. ET, to celebrate and advance vital, creative mental health supports that inspire hope and encourage recovery in public school communities. 

The one-night-only event, which is free and open to the public, will highlight the organization's innovative approaches to trauma recovery and healing, including community-based creative art therapies, youth development and career readiness, and student-led mentoring programs. It will also feature an exclusive art auction powered by Artsy, with work from renowned contemporary artists including Awol Erizku, Rashid Johnson, and Ann Craven.

"We are excited and proud to highlight the important and impactful social and emotional work that our dedicated counselors have been doing during the pandemic, and will continue to implement beyond this crisis, to emphasize that schools should be places of healing," said Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, CEO, Counseling In Schools. "We hope that this festive virtual community gathering will advance strength-based and healing-centered mental health solutions in our schools moving forward."

Hosted by CIS Director of Development, David Kener, the evening will include spotlights on CIS staff; guest speakers including CIS Advisory Board members Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena, Senior Scholar-in-Residence, New York Academy of Medicine, and Dr. Shawn Ginwright, Founder and CEO, Flourish Agenda Inc.; and the world premiere of a short documentary that goes behind the scenes at ATECH Community High School in Brooklyn. Filmed in partnership with Partisan Pictures, the documentary film company founded by seven-time Emmy and Peabody award-winning producer and cinematographer Peter Schnall, the short follows students' return to the classroom after remote learning and highlights the unique ways in which CIS supports their emotional well-being during the challenging transition back to the physical classroom.

The art auction will take place throughout the event. Powered by Artsy, the leading online marketplace for collecting and discovering art, the auction will go live the evening of Tuesday, May 18 and bidding will remain open two weeks after the event, until Tuesday, June 1.

It will feature more than 30 donated pieces from high-profile contemporary artists Awol Erizku, Rashid Johnson, Ann Craven, Elliott Arkin, Daniel Arsham, Katherine Bernhardt, Andrew Birk, Lauder Boden, Luke Butler, Mauricio Cortez, Chase Hall, Peter Halley, Florian Heinke, Leila Jeffreys, Wyatt Kahn, Forrest Kirk, Dr. Lakra, Claude Lawrence, Dean Levin, Kelly Losier, Steven Manolis, Keith Mayerson, Max Ostrow, Nathlie Provosty, Constanza Schaffner, Kenny Scharf, Jimmy Sheehan, Tom Smith, John Sonsini, Vincent Wenzel, Torie Zalben, Alexis Zambrano, and the "Real Salvator Mundi."

Featured art includes a photograph from Awol Erizku's current exhibition with Public Art Fund, 13 photographs that grace 350 JCDecaux bus shelters across New York City and Chicago and speak to the crisis of mass incarceration in the United States. Erizku rose to prominence in the mainstream when his photos of Beyoncé and Jay-Z posing in front of Mona Lisa at the Louvre went viral, and shortly thereafter, his Madonna-esque pregnancy portrait of Beyoncé was lauded as one of Instagram's most-liked photos of all time. He has exhibited at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, and Flag Art Foundation, New York.

Two pieces of Rashid Johnson-designed jewelry, Anxious Men Gold Ring Band, nine carat gold with red enamel and six rubies, and Anxious Men Titanium Cuff, titanium with five rubies, produced in collaboration with LIZWORKS, will be up for auction. Johnson is among an influential cadre of contemporary American artists whose work employs a wide range of media to explore themes of art history, individual and shared cultural identities, personal narratives, literature, philosophy, materiality, and critical history.

Also included in the auction is Pensée (Reims, France, Sep 18, 2007), a painting from Ann Craven, known for her lush, serial portraits of the moon, birds, and flowers, as well as her painted bands of color. Craven's paintings are in the public collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; New Museum, New York; and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, among others. She is represented by Karma, New York.

The event will conclude with live interactive art and mindfulness activities for attendees.

A Night of Art and Healing is sponsored by First Republic Bank, Flourish Agenda, Investors Bank, Mr. ARTSEE, RightClick Solutions, and Webster Bank. For more information and to register as an attendee, please visit bit.ly/NightOfArtandHealing.

ABOUT COUNSELING IN SCHOOLS
For 35 years, Counseling in Schools (CIS) has placed mental health professionals in schools and homeless shelters to create and foster community-based relationships that enable New York City's children to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally—awakening possibilities and leading to success. CIS staff engage  in a partnership with the entire school community to create programs that equip children, families, teachers, and administrators with the right tools for preventing and coping with the challenges they face.

A 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in New York City, CIS works with school communities to aid the journey of children, families, teachers and administrators to reach our full potential. For more information, please visit counselinginschools.org.

CONTACT:    Laurie Kamens | [email protected] | 516-376-0356

SOURCE Counseling In Schools

Related Links

https://www.counselinginschools.org