FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10/13/2023
Contact:
Camille Tibaldeo
camille@fountaingallerynyc.com
212.246.6543
On view: Thursday through Sunday, October 19-22/October 26-29
NEW YORK CITY – Fountain House Gallery and Studio, representing artists living with mental illness and an Organization in Residence for the 2023 term at Governors Island, announces the opening of YELL!, an immersive installation spotlighting mental health. The installation will be on view at House #410A on Colonels Row, Thursday through Sunday, October 19-22 and October 26-29. Hours: 11:00am to 5:00pm.
“We are excited to bring a new iteration of YELL! To Governors Island, following its premiere at Manhattan’s Herald Square Plaza during Mental Health Awareness Month last May,” said Rachel Weisman, Director of Fountain House Gallery. “The aim of this multimedia experience is to parallel the daunting journey through an unfriendly and obtuse mental health system. Employing verse, performance, and art, YELL! expresses what it feels like to live in the world with mental illness.”
The installation features stories of Fountain House members' lived experiences, communicated through original artwork, written testimonials, first-person recitations of poetry and prose, and video performances. This installation is multi-sensory; while images and videos are projected onto the walls and ceilings, recordings of members' voices are played throughout the structure.
These personal accounts are presented in a maze constructed from plywood and lumber. As participants walk through, they encounter an immersive narrative of Fountain House members’ thoughts, feelings, and experiences, reflecting themes such as trauma, stigma, incarceration, psychosis, identity, addiction, suicide, medication, hospitalization, hope, dreams, recovery, and freedom. The installation emphasizes community-based recovery options and is staffed by a trained peer specialist who is available to answer questions and provide visitors with resources.
Visitors to the installation will also have an opportunity to see Fountain House Gallery artists at work in the upstairs studio space at the house on Colonels Row, as they conclude the third of three Artist Residencies held since the Governors Island “Organization in Residence” term commenced last spring.
During the spring, summer, and early fall months each year, more than two dozen arts, culture, and education organizations utilize space inside Governors Island’s historic former military houses through Governors Island Arts’ annual Organizations in Residence program — presenting exhibitions, holding free public programs, and hosting artist residencies.
YELL! Is funded, in part, by the Sozosei Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Otsuka. The Foundation’s primary focus is to eliminate the use of jail and prisons for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.
Fountain House Gallery and Studio is funded, in part, by generous support from the Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust, and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.
About Fountain House Gallery and Studio
Fountain House Gallery and Studio supports the careers and creative visions of artists living with mental illness. Founded by Fountain House in 2000, the Manhattan-based Gallery sells original artworks and collaborates with a wide network of artists, curators and cultural institutions. The Studio, located in Long Island City, is a collaborative workspace that furthers the professional practice of our artists. Embracing artists who are emerging or established, trained or self-taught, Fountain House Gallery and Studio cultivates artistic growth, makes a vital contribution to the New York arts community, and challenges the stigma surrounding mental illness.
About Fountain House
Fountain House is a national mental health nonprofit fighting to improve health, increase opportunity, and end social and economic isolation for people living with serious mental illness. Fountain House is leading a national movement for the dignity and rights of people with serious mental illness.
Fountain House Gallery
702 Ninth Avenue at 48th Street
NYC 10019
212.262.2756
Hours: Tues.-Fri. 12-6/Sat. 1-7
More than a gallery. A movement.
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