What is A.R.T.? |
A.R.T. - Who We Are/What We Do
"Until A.R.T. our son simply existed. Now he has a life."
-Mother of A.R.T. artist James Rodkey
A.R.T. is a non-profit 501C3 organization established in 1995. We have developed a breakthrough that is large scale. It brings profound enhancement of quality of life to a population more severely marginalized than any other. Our breakthrough offers our society a powerful new way of seeing. This new way of seeing is key to our evolution as human beings. A group of able-bodied people look at a young person with severe cerebral palsy and they see something they instinctively want to dismiss. Then, the same group of people see this same person as luminous with deep, articulate, creative powers that handily overleap their own.
To those who see new A.R.T. artists emerge, it appears something like a miracle. It appears a person they thought was inert, come to life. It isn't a miracle. All it takes is a new way of seeing. Jump away from the primitive instinct to judge by appearances, to the ability to see what is really there: the individual as full of life, but simply trapped. A.R.T. brings the means to get everything that is trapped inside, out. When people see this happen - this leap from the bottom rung of the ladder to the top? With so little effort? Just by looking at things a new way? The quote we often hear from staff is: "I am blown away."
Here's the situation: Our society, although doing their best, with good intentions, leave fellow humans trapped in a dehumanizing, unnecessary void of passivity. We have worked with disabilities organizations and schools all over the country, for the past 16 years, so we know what's going on. Brilliant, deep, rich, witty, ingenious, warm, hilarious, unique, powerfully creative individuals of all ages are not offered pathways to show us who they really are, who they are on the inside. Current approaches don't offer them any means to subtlety, complexity, exactness, sophisticated self-expression. When we asked why these things were not being offered we were told, "You can only expect so much from them."
These same people deemed incapable, linked instantly with the A.R.T. techniques. They were in there the whole time, ready, waiting. This 'being trapped' being locked in, is a terrible situation that can be ended. Everyone who sees A.R.T. in action is deeply stirred, both emotionally and intellectually. A.R.T. is a simple approach. It is based on common sense. It worked the first day we tried it in 1994, and continues to work, everywhere we take it around the country. A.R.T. creates innovative tools and technologies. We offer training that empowers organizations to have their own A.R.T. studio program. Our breakthrough approach brings perfect individual control of creative processes to a population that cannot walk, few can talk, and none have the articulate use of their hands.
A.R.T. is not recreational therapy, and although it has the deepest therapeutic benefits, the work produced is not art therapy art. The work produced is Art. It is Art that comes solely from the individual. There are no art lessons. There is no guidance. It comes from them. Amazing. With this leap from passivity to perfect control, the user gains the voice, the power, to show the world who they really are. And when those around them see the full power the individual holds in their inner life, everything changes. Seen differently they are treated differently, doors once closed to them, open, and in comes the fresh air.
“For me, a most profound moment came as one artist completed her painting; she was overwhelmed, ecstatic with joy and fulfillment. Her whole being radiated with an enormous sense of pride. Learning about A.R.T. through reading, talking and even watching videos only provides a glimpse into the impact the program can have for individuals.”
- Jacqueline Cavadi, Director, Easter Seals, UCP NC/VA
You can see examples of paintings created using the A.R.T. approach on our web gallery. Each of these exceptional paintings was created with no outside influence of any kind. We simply bring them the tools that will empower them to take charge, and they run with it. The artwork operates at such a high level it proves this population have exceptional untapped creative power.
From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: With A.R.T., Jake Martin can concentrate less on his shaky hands and more on his design. “I can let go of everything, everything,” he says. “Painting gives me a chance to be regular for once.’
A.R.T. brings Jake not only relief, joy and satisfaction in the studio, but offers him the most deeply meaningful form of employment. All the A.R.T. studio programs raise high-profile exhibitions in top galleries and art museums. So many of the A.R.T. artists have sold their work, some for as much as $2,400.00, and so they rise from isolation, to creative power, to integration with, and respect of, the greater community.
So many people are fooled by outer appearances of those we work with. A.R.T. suspends all presumption, and simply gives the keys of the Ferrari to the new artist, and let them step on the gas. Our experience in the field over these last sixteen years is that it is as if those we work with, no matter their age, no matter their official clinical cognitive rating, have been sitting in the Ferrari all along, engine running, car in gear, foot ready on the gas pedal, but the nose of the car is pressed against the closed garage door. All A.R.T. does is lift the door, and off they go.
We can link you to numerous professionals around the country who have seen A.R.T. in action and can testify to the veracity of our claims. President of Princeton University Shirley Tilghman describes A.R.T. as a revolution, and that it is. It is simple. It is easy. Not only can it not cost much, but can bring serious funding to the host site.
We have allied to raise A.R.T. programs with United Cerebral Palsy, Easter Seals, ARC of America, the Cerebral Palsy Association, schools, care facilities, day programs, rehab centers, hospitals, independent community-based programs, nonprofit arts groups, and private homes. There is no age limit, no cognitive rating limit for those we work with.
Our flagship studio program is at The Paul Robeson Center for the Arts in Princeton NJ. Our sponsors include the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Kessler Foundation, the Llura Gund Foundation, the New York Community Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon and Princeton University. Awards include both the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leadership and President's Awards, the Arts and Healing Award, the AAMR Training Award, and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Teaching Award.
A.R.T. board members have included actor Willem Dafoe, musician Neil Young, author John McPhee, art historian professor emeritus Princeton University Sam Hunter, photographer Barbara Vaughn-Hoimes.
The book about A.R.T. 'Flying Colors' was named 'Today's Best Nonfiction’ by Reader's Digest. In various forms it has been published on five continents. Our web site has had visitors from over sixty-four countries. We have satellite sites in New Zealand, England and Canada. Feature media coverage include the New York Times, the Miami Herald, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Reader, CBS Evening News, PBS, CNN national and international, Reader's Digest, People Magazine, American Profiles, and American Voices with Bill Bradley.
Seeing these individuals emerge has spurred our mission to help organizations across the country raise their own studio programs, in order to bring the liberating power of A.R.T. to as many people as we can.