Artists on the Edge: Healing and Recovery through the Arts

What began in a janitor’s closet at the Lancaster County Community Mental Health Center has grown into a weekly affair encompassing nearly 200 individuals from the Lincoln/Lancaster County community. Artists on the Edge began nearly ten years ago through a collaborative effort between the Lancaster County Community Mental Health Center and CenterPointe, Inc. in Lincoln, Nebraska. A third partner, the City of Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department, joined the endeavor six years ago. Today Artists on the Edge provides resources and support to artists of various backgrounds and disciplines.

Artists on the Edge was created in response to data collected from two separate outcome studies. The studies indicated that approximately one-third of individuals completing mental health or substance abuse treatment programs specified that throughout the course of their treatment, no attention was offered regarding their music, dance, writing, and/or artistic abilities. The overwhelming response lead to the creation of the Open Studio and writer’s WordShop.

Open Studio provides an opportunity for visual artists to gather while the writer’s WordShop focuses on writers and poets work. Featuring paintings, drawings, watercolors, photographs, poetry, and even film, participants in Artists on the Edge share their passion to create. Each group is open to the community however the largest numbers of participants come from the recovery community.

Open Studio and WordShop are now held on the 2nd floor of the F Street Community Center at 13th and ‘F’ Streets in Lincoln, Nebraska. Poets and writers meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and visual artists meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Public transportation is available to get to the group and the Community Mental Health Center provides transportation home if needed. Participants of Open Studio and WordShop must be adults.

Work created by Artists on the Edge is displayed year-round in Lincoln at CenterPointe, Inc., the Lancaster County Community Mental Health Center, and Touchstone. In addition, 2009 shows are currently scheduled at the following locations in Lincoln, Nebraska:

• January - State Office Building, 301 Centennial Mall South
• February - St. Mark’s Episcopal on the Campus, 1309 ‘R’ Street
• May/June - A to Z Printing Gallery, 8230 Cody Drive
• October - Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 ‘A’ Street

The 5th Annual Artists on the Edge exhibit will be held August 4-8, 2009 at the Loft, 800 ‘P’ Street, 3rd Floor in Lincoln. Traveling exhibits will be on display at the Medical Center Library in Kansas City, Kansas and at the Mental Health Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Open Studio and writer’s WordShop are completely funded by private grant funds. Funds received provide supplies for the artist, cover the cost of mattes and frames, and sponsor one major art show each year. In addition, working artists from the community join Open Studio and WordShop each Wednesday to provide instruction, advice, and simply support to other artists. Members of Artists on the Edge have also voted to contribute 25% of all proceeds from the sales of their work to the program for sustainability. The remaining 75% of the sales go directly to the artist.

Since the inception of the Open Studio and WordShop, it has been noted that participants’ use of emergency services such as hospital admissions has significantly decreased if not been eliminated. Research focused on how art keeps individuals well and helps others get through difficult times is currently being conducted. Findings are being compiled into a document entitled “Creativity and It’s Role in Recovery”. Authors of the material have set a projected release date of August 2010.

For more information on Artists on the Edge please contact Dean Settle, Executive Director of the Lancaster County Community Mental Health Center at (402) 441-6603 or by email at dsettle@lancaster.ne.gov.