Tag Archives: Art

Uncategorized

ArtsHealth Mercer Offers Affordable Opportunities to Benefit Mental Health

By Tori Duym

ArtsHealth Mercer, a coalition of arts and culture based organizations in the Mercer County area, hosts several events per week for five dollars and under.

One of their most popular hosting locations is West Windsor Arts, where Aylin Green serves as executive director. In an interview with Green, who has a background in art and education, she revealed that ArtsMercer was launched as a coalition in 2023.

As Green stated, through this network of organizations, individuals throughout Mercer county are given the opportunity to interact and make connections with new people, while exploring their creativity. The tie between mental health and art is a prominent one that Green said she has seen “through many conversations and real life accounts,” both at their events and in her role as a teacher.

According to the ArtsHealth Mercer website, the several organizations included in their coalition host events year-round as a part of their mission to improve mental health through an artistic outlet. Although these events are year-round, there is a special spotlight on the month of November, with a few additional events “promoting health and healing,” since November is Arts & Health month.

When asked about the impact of art on mental health in the community, Green shared a story about an event where youth had the chance to explore several different mediums of art, and one young teenager whose entire demeanor changed when she began letting herself have artistic freedom.

“As soon as she got some clay in her hands, she opened up and she brightened up and I just saw this complete switch,” Green said.

She described this moment as one of her favorite memories from one of the countless events that she has attended.

Green also shared that she holds a personal connection to art and has witnessed the correlation between creativity and mental health improvement firsthand.

“I know what it means for me as an individual, it’s such an important part of my life, but through the course of my life,” Green said. “I have also gotten to see how it’s impacted others over time as well.”

She also explained that this coalition has created a more widespread opportunity for the Mercer County community to explore this outlet, all in an accessible and affordable way. The spaces provided by ArtsHealth Mercer accommodate events of all sizes and welcomes groups both large and small.

ArtsHealth Mercer offers a wide variety of events, ranging from ballet dancing and knitting to drawing and poetry. Some programs are ongoing, happening monthly or several times a month. One such program is Dancing in The Dark, which Green described as a “safe space for everybody and every body to dance.” 

The lights are turned low and people are free to dance however they may want to, without the fear of judgment. This event costs five dollars and occurs at least once a month. Green shared that this is one her favorite events to attend and it seems to be popular with the community.

ArtsHealth Mercer offers opportunities across the community at very affordable or no cost. These events showcase the benefits of mental health improvements seen by members of the coalition first-hand. Individuals of all ages are welcomed across the several events offered monthly.

Certain events require a registration prior to the start of the event, which can be found on the ArtsHealth Mercer website. The “Calendar” tab provides more information on each event, along with a full list of upcoming events.

“Because of the work that we do creating arts programs for the community, we regularly hear stories from them about what the arts have meant for them in their lives,” Green said.

News

Te Veo: Tamara Torres’ Journey of Art and Activism

By Sakinah Ahmed

Tamara Torres, a Puerto Rican artist based in Trenton, depicts powerful and vivid scenes with varied mediums. To her, art is a form of activism and the pathway to change. Through her art, she brings awareness to issues that women of color face, specifically in the Trenton area.

In a new exhibition titled “Te Veo,” Torres explores various themes through 18 different pieces, including landscape paintings, conceptual sculptures, and collages. This solo exhibition was presented in La Galerie Adrienne in Trenton between Sept. 21, 2024 and Nov. 1, 2024. When describing her creative process, Torres said that she always starts with a blank canvas. She embraces spontaneity by not planning out what she is going to create.

“My paintings take about four to six hours, and my collages take around one to two hours to put together,” Torres said.

She prefers creating art in a more hectic environment with music and television shows playing in the background. “My brain works better when there’s a lot going on. When things get silent, I start to overthink,” Torres explained.

Torres’ art holds common motifs varying from her different mediums. One such motif is the “Shadow People.” To her, they represent constant survival. They are the people that she has known over her lifetime that did not make it. She described herself as “stepping on their shoulders.” She says, “They are spiritual guides so that I always remember where I came from.” Another common motif is the “Blind Eyes.” She said they symbolize how “people are aware but not aware. People don’t want to take action.” She continued to say that they are not pretty eyes, just as society is embarrassing and sad.

The highlight of the exhibition is an intricate piece titled “Te Veo.” Over the last year, Torres went through some big changes. She had just finished writing the play “Tres Her- manas,” which highlighted Afro-Caribbean themes through musical elements. During this time, she fell into a depression and felt inclined to stop creating art altogether. A friend of hers reached out and insisted that she paint a piece for a window display called “Windows of Understanding.”

 

To get back into the creative mindset, Torres collaborated on a separate piece, “The Awakening,” with the painter and muralist Louie Blaka. During the creation process, they only stopped painting to refill their brushes, and they remained silent. After the collaboration, Torres said she was reminded of why she is an artist. “When it’s [the art] in the future, and you’re [the artist] not there, it will be seen,” Torres said. She painted “Te Veo” right after this col- laboration.

When presenting her art in exhibitions, Torres aims for viewers to connect deeply with her art and experi- enc her pieces as she views them. “My goal is that people who look at my art stand in front of my pieces for more than five seconds,” she said. Every time a viewer looks at Torres’ art, they can take away something new, such is the nature of abstract art. Torres takes inspiration from poets, musicians and writers. Whenever she travels, she always visits book- stores to discover new authors.

 Some of the musicians she takes inspiration from are Queen Latifah, Nina Simone, Kendrick Lamar, and even varying classical musicians. Regarding artists, Torres said that “one of the greatest blessings is knowing artists. Anyone reading this article should find artist friends to bring joy and light into their lives.” Out of all of the many paintings she’s created, Torres said that “Te Veo” is her favorite. She is also very passionate about “Blind Eyes” and “La Luz.” 

When asked if she believes her art has the power to drive social change, Torres said she hopes it drives individual change, which is the first step to making a positive impact. 

Torres is determined to tell her truth and to inspire others to reveal theirs. Reflecting on her art, She gave the example of a glass of water with pepper floating at the top. With each added drop of water, the pepper changes and disperses.  Her message to every reader is that “you can’t change the whole world… you can get overwhelmed. … If you concentrate on your own drop to make the pepper change, then that is well enough.”

As an artist, Torres believes she must open doors for others and inspire artists wherever she presents her work. When she first started painting, she created art for the main purpose of financial stability. Now she said she paints for herself and does not concern herself with the opinions of others. She understands that her art may not be for everyone, but she said, “There’s someone, somewhere, that my art is gonna move.”  

Looking ahead, Torres hopes to one day exhibit a piece in the Museum of Modern Art of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. She has also always wanted to exhibit in Egypt.  

Between intervals of laughter, Torres remarked, “Even if my kids put up one of my paintings in the bathroom of the MOMA, it’ll still count to me. And I’ll know I’ve made it.”

News

Kimberley Lennon: A Face at ArtSpace

By McKenna Samson

Kimberley Lennon sat at the corner of a work table at ArtSpace, drinking juice from her cup as we began our interview. We began discussing the origins of her artistry. 

“I started doing art when I was five. I really discovered that it was a passion around nine. My Kindergarten teacher bought my first piece of art. She paid $50 for a crayon drawing of flowers. She told me that ‘I know you’re gonna get really big, I want to buy your first piece’…she made me sign it, too.” Lennon said. The support of her teacher, especially at a young age, encouraged her to continue to cultivate her talents and expand her art. 

In 2007, Lennon found herself, a single mother, in a shelter. She made her way to ArtSpace at Homefront. The mothers at ArtSpace were instructed to attend art classesfor stress relief, and that’s where Kimberley Lennon crossed paths with Ruthann Traylor, the Director of ArtSpace. Lennon loved the creative space, as it allowed for her and the other women to channel their emotions and experiences out into a creative, safe space. “It was just really nice to be around like-minded artists. From then on, it just became a wrap pretty much. From 2007 and now, I’ve been at ArtSpace.”

When Lennon is not adding to her expansive and diverse collection of paintings, she is exploring several other avenues of art.

“I don’t just paint…I do poetry, I do free verse. I write music…I do lyrics. I do photography, I sew. I crochet, I paint, draw. I do everything art. Primarily, I am focusing on painting, writing, and photography.” Lennon said, taking a sip of grape juice. She giggled, explaining that her art comes from a place of passion. Her inspiration for her art comes from a place of her raw creativity–her dreams.

“Most of the time, I dream up my art and it’s like an obsession,” she said. “I have to get it out of my head.” Lennon finds herself in different series; she shared that she painted The Purple People series and the Freedom series for some time before moving onto her current Reflective series. We shared a laugh as she noted that the Reflective series has caused her to do a lot of reflection on herself.

Towards the end of our time together, Lennon shared with me two of her favorite poems, “Dear Little Broken Mind” and “I Am,” the latter being a part of her Freedom Series. The intersections of her identity–race, gender, class, ability–all come together to form her poem, a deeply introspective poem. 

Lennon’s work has been in art shows, sold and many of her pieces hang on the walls of ArtSpace, allowing for any and all who come in, to see her signature work. Kimberley is constantly creating art, we are excited to see what work she’ll produce in the future!