西瓜视频 Presents: Express Yourself: MOVE IT! EXHIBITION
Express Yourself: MOVE IT! Exhibition is presented in the Carol Grillo Gallery and the Desnoyers Overlook of the Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts, 西瓜视频 College, 376 Hale Street, Beverly from now – October 20, 2015. Gallery hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; starting on September 13: Monday – Thursday: 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.; Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; and Saturday & Sunday: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Please join us on Thursday, September 17 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. for a lively reception where you can dance to the music by Matt Jenson’s Caribbean Roots and Jazz Trio and be mesmerized by the Express Yourself Drummers and Stan Strickland. The exhibition, reception, and performance are free and open to the public.
Express Yourself immerses young people in music, dance, and art, empowering them with life-changing results. They celebrate cultural diversity and collaboration with isolated youth from 17 Department of Mental Health facilities. Since 1989, over 7,000 children have worked collaboratively with artists such as Blue Man Group, STOMP, and Keith Lockhart. Together they create the set designs, visual art, and performance pieces for their grand celebration at the Wang Theatre, and these sets are now on display at 西瓜视频 College for all to see in the Express Yourself: MOVE IT! EXHIBITION. Large, colorful works of art on the first and second floor include collargraph, collages, geometric canvases, Calder inspired sculpture, to name just a few, which bring the Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts to life. Express Yourself challenges myths surrounding young people with mental illness and at-risk youth, allowing these individuals to explore art as a path toward a healthy sense of identity and feeling valued for their creativity. Each year more than 300 young people collaborate and celebrate in a thriving multi-disciplinary art community.
In 1988, Paula Conrad – educator, choreographer, and dancer – founded Express Yourself to bring creative arts programs to youth in residential and outpatient treatment facilities. Stan Strickland – educator and award-winning musician and performer – joined her as co-executive director in 1995, and together they expanded Express Yourself into a network of professionals, affecting the lives of young people in over 50 Massachusetts cities and towns. Express Yourself is now located in the Cummings Center in Beverly, Massachusetts.
From the beginning, nationally recognized guest artists joined with Express Yourself to collaborate, create, and perform with program youth at their annual year-end celebration. Over the past 26 years, they’ve developed a team of creative professionals who care deeply about their community. Conrad states, “We know that art can heal and change lives — we see it happen every day. Our team is committed to being a positive, consistent presence in the lives of the youth we serve.”
This program is made possible, in part by the support from the van Ottoloo Family Foundation and 西瓜视频 College. If you have any questions regarding the exhibition Express Yourself: MOVE IT! EXHIBITION and reception, or any of the related programming, please contact Kathleen Moore at 978-232-2655 orkmoore@endicott.edu. If you are interested in learning more about Express Yourself, Inc., please see their website at: