Arts Integration includes the integration of the visual and performing arts into our programs as a wellness strategy and a medium to open up conversations.

Walt’s Waltz and Greenville Center for Creative Arts held a community gallery exhibition, Step Out Of Stigma, on May 6. It was a 2-month exhibition. In Step Out Of Stigma, the artists open up discussions surrounding mental health conditions through a variety of techniques and mediums. Their work represents dark depressive days weighted with chaos and anxiety, as well as days filled with light and hope. The exhibition featured the work of artists Traci Wright Martin, Will Crooks, Mimi Wyche, Eli Warren, Savannah Rose Ralph, Nick Burns, Sherrill Hill, Lisa Steffens, and Barbara Castañeda, in addition to the collaborations with Dr. Frank Clark between artists Lisa M. Shimko and Terrell Washington.

May 6th is Walt Crooks’ birthday–increasing the significance and relevance of this event, and our plea for change. Every 40 seconds a human being dies by suicide. At any given time, one in five individuals struggles with a mental health condition. As we work toward change, let’s remember Walt, the Renaissance Man, the Gentle Giant, and Step Out Of Stigma.