News

Therapeutic Spaces receives $65,000 from Staunton Farm Foundation to support mental health of Black and Brown artists


Artist Talk, Therapeutic Spaces has received a generous grant of $65,000 from the Staunton Farm Foundation to support its series of workshops for Black and Brown artists experiencing mental health challenges in Allegheny County.

"I want to normalize having honest conversations about mental health within the Black community,” says Artist Talk, Therapeutic Spaces founder Sydney Davis. “Being an artist myself, I understand the constant pressures that are unique to being a creator. I have experienced these pressures and have heard firsthand from others that, especially through the pandemic, artists’ mental health has taken a toll.”

Therapeutic Spaces offers participants equitable professional development courses to support sustainable art practices through education and business workshops. With group therapy sessions, participating artists are also guided by a mental health professional on various topics and themes centered around artist struggles. Artist-led dialogues add a social, uplifting think-tank approach to workshop discussions.

“13.4% of the U.S. population identifies as Black or African American,” according to the Mental Health America resource guide. “In that population, over 16% report having a mental illness in 2020. This is over 7 million people.”

The Staunton Farm Foundation grant will support the expansion of Therapeutic Spaces for 2022-2023, increasing the number of workshops and giving access to mental health therapy to over 100 local Black and Brown artists.

The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council is proud to be the fiscal sponsor for Artist Talk, Therapeutic Spaces.

###