Fort Wayne, Ind. — Indiana Arts Commission has awarded a $4,000 Arts Project Support grant to Easterseals Northeast Indiana to support a pilot project using art therapy to promote positive emotional expression.
The grant funds will be used for art supplies, instructor fees, and other costs of implementing the project in Fort Wayne, Angola and Columbia City.
The project is a community art-based initiative designed to cultivate awareness and reduce stigmas associated with mental health and disabilities by fostering community, empathy, and an appreciation of differences through creative, accessible, non-clinical guided arts instruction and community engagement. Results of the pilot will be evaluated to develop future programming.
The pilot will include:
· Initial surveys to assess attitudes toward mental health and disabilities
· Six weekly art therapy workshops for Easterseals participants in Fort Wayne, Angola and Columbia City
· Public gallery exhibits in each community with opportunities for discussion, education, and outreach during each event
· Follow up surveys to assess individual growth and program effectiveness
Activities are made possible in part by Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, and the Indiana Arts Commission, which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts.