UPCOMING
Wednesday, September 10
6:30 – 7:45 pm
Location: To Be Announced
Leslie Mejia – Open Studio
Healing Grounds: The Bronx in Color
Join us for Leslie’s Open Studio!
“The Bronx in Color: Healing Grounds” is the expansion of a multi-dimensional initiative where the community is invited to reimagine the “healing journey” by centering Art, Play, and Joy through engaging in our “Wellness Playground.” This programming initiative takes Artistic therapeutic tools and introduces the community to new ways of taking care of themselves and each other with the overall goal of de-stigmatizing mental health wellness practices and bridging access to tools folks can add to their wellness toolbox. Given that the Bronx has one of the highest rates of psychiatric hospitalizations in New York City and that the majority of its Medicaid-insured residents live in areas with mental health provider shortages, this project has the potential to make a significant impact. I started the first iteration of the “Healing Grounds” project this September to commemorate suicide awareness/prevention month. We curated a space where wellness practitioners offered free services and consultations, artists engaged in ceremonial art-making, and community was invited to collaborate in play, rest, and creativity.
The Bronx in Color: Healing Grounds (2.0) will be a 4-5 Wellness playground workshop series with community partners leading up to an exhibit& culminating event occurring in the Fall of 2025 (coinciding with Suicide/Mental Health awareness)