June 13, 2024
“Father’s Day Docuseries, Art Exhibit to Raise Awareness for Mental Health”
What a great W for Walt’s Waltz as they were on WSPA’s Morning Show at Greenville Center for Creative Arts presenting their signature stained glass mascot plaque their latest Walt’s Waltz Stigma-Free Environment, the Pheonix Center, and what this partnership means to them. Additionally, they spoke about the premier of the Docuseries Sensitive Men Rising, their art exhibit Mental Health Moonshot at GCCA, and other programs and initiatives. We want to give a special thanks to reporter, Christine Scarpelli, for making this happen. You can view the links to all four segments here: Group Plaque Presentation, Founder Susan Crooks shares Walt’s Waltz Beginnings, Growth, and Programs. Representatives for the Pheonix Center address the partnership and exhibit: Lily and Alex
May 3, 2024
Mental Health Moonshot Art Exhibition at GCCA
We are excited to partner with the Greenville Center for Creative Arts for our second art exhibition, Mental Health Moonshot. This show opens May 3 and continues through June 26.
Mental Health Moonshot is a featured group exhibition at GCCA’s Community Gallery that beckons us to embark on a monumental journey aimed at unraveling the complexities of mental health and dismantling the barriers of stigma. Mental Health Moonshot stands as a collective outcry for equity for those captured by mental health struggles. This exhibition is more than a showcase; it is a beacon of hope piercing the darkness of mental health struggles. Walt’s Waltz in partnership with GCCA is committed to erasing stigmas and reducing suffering as they work as a catalyst for change. Jess Abbott, GCCA’s CEO, states, “Amidst all the colors and creations in the arts, lies a canvas for healing. At GCCA, we recognize the profound intersection between mental health and artistic expression. As the first Stigma Free Environment in Greenville, SC, we proudly champion the power of creativity in nurturing mental wellness. Our commitment extends beyond our walls, as we embark on an enlightening journey with ‘Walt’s Waltz’ in 2024, reaffirming our dedication to education and advocacy. Together, let’s ensure that the vital dialogue surrounding mental health remains vibrant and unyielding.” Read more HERE.
May 6, 2024
GENTLE GIANT
This piece was installed on May 6th, Walt’s birthday. One of his nicknames was the Gentle Giant. The piece was created in honor of Walt Crooks, a teacher whose life mission was to reduce suffering, and because of this, Crooks impacted the lives of many individuals. Suffering from anxiety and depression, Crooks lost the battle on August 22, 2019. Crooks’ life mission was further carried out by family members, Will Crooks and Susan Crooks, who created an organization called Walt’s Waltz. Crooks’ story touched the artist who channeled the pain from dealing with a season of anxiety and depression into the piece. Read more HERE.
May 1, 2024
Let’s Stop Dancing Around Mental Health Conversations - TALK Greenville story written by Charles Milteer
Thank you, Charles and TALK Greenville for this important story. Please stop by Camperdown Falls Tower. The Gentle Giant is on display through September. Extended hours for Artisphere.
February 17, 2024
USC Upstate First University in America to Become a Walt’s Waltz Stigma-Free Environment WYFF’s Gabrielle Komorowski Interview
Thank you to Ms. Emma Hudson, Dr. Bates, Dr. Harris, Ms. Gregory, and others at USC Upstate for believing in our Mission and Vision and making your campus Stigma-Free. What a humbling moment for us at Walt’s Waltz as individuals like Emma Hudson continue to advance our movement for change.
September 16, 2023
Mayor Knox White Proclaims the City of Greenville a Walt’s Waltz Stigma-Free Environment WYFF’s Coverage
September is Suicide Awareness Month. Take a listen to Mayor Knox White and founder Susan Crooks discuss what this means for Walt’s Waltz, the residents of Greenville, and others.
May 12, 2023
Your Carolina - Walt’s Waltz
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and there is a local organization on a mission to start a movement surrounding mental health. Here to tell us about the organization and a big event where you can help is Susan Crooks.
April 7, 2023
WYFF News 4 explores mental health challenges in South Carolina in their Special Report Chronicles State of Mind
GREENVILLE, S.C. - WYFF 4’s special Chronicle: State of Mind will take a closer look at the mental health challenges facing our communities right now. The one-hour, locally produced special premieres Friday at 8 p.m. It examines the stigma surrounding mental health, the availability of resources, and efforts to raise awareness and save lives. “So many of us are affected by mental health issues, either directly or as a caregiver,” said John Humphries, WYFF 4 President & General Manager. “Yet we often don’t give it enough attention. These stories will shed light on mental health struggles and offer hope for those in crisis.”
We are grateful to WYFF New 4 for investing their time and resources into this special report. Walt’s Waltz is humbled and honored to have been part of this production. I want to thank Gabrielle Komorowski for remembering us and for being so supportive through this emotional interview. Additionally, thank you to Greenville Center for Creative Arts executive director, Jess Burgess, for jumping in to help, and to Kim Fabian who believed in us making our very first Walt’s Waltz Stigma Free Environment a reality. One of Walt’s nicknames was the Renaissance Man and this work feels right.
March 30, 2023
Preview the upcoming program by WYFF 4 to air on April 7 at 8:00 PM
Editorial of the upcoming program, Chronicle: State of Mind.
March 23, 2023
With calls rising, the SC 988 suicide hotline is still without state funding
Honored to be remembered and interviewed by Kennedi Harris from Fox Carolina on the need for state not grant funding for the SC 988 hotline. Kennedy gave time for Susan Crooks to tell her story and share about Walt’s Waltz work here in the upstate.
September 1, 2022
September is suicide awareness month; Upstate mother shares her story of losing son
Thank you, Jamarcus and the team at WSPA Channel 7 for your commitment to spotlighting a tough subject, Suicide. This interview is one way we advance our mission: Walt’s Waltz is a Compass and a Megaphone for Mental Health Support, Education, and Change.
July 20, 2022
Project Healthy Minds "Stories Worth Sharing”
Project Health Minds featured Susan Crooks and Walt’s Waltz in their series, Stories Worth Sharing. We appreciate their work and willingness to share.
May 24, 2022
Walt’s Waltz
Grateful to Jamarcus Gaston and the folks at WSPA Channel 7 for our interview. Every 40 seconds a human being dies by suicide something Susan Crooks knows personally. She wants us to stop dancing around mental health conversations and this month is mental health awareness month,” Jamarcus Gaston - Walt’s Waltz
May 9, 2022
Step Out Of Stigma
Even a tornado didn’t stop Rashad Williams from WYFF News and his crew from covering Walt’s Waltz first art exhibit - Step Out Of Stigma at GCCA. The exhibit runs through June 22, 2022. Walt's Waltz Art Exhibit - Step Out Of Stigma
May 6, 2022
Step Out Of Stigma Art Exhibition at GCCA
Walt’s Waltz is excited to partner with our First Walt’s Waltz Stigma-Free Environment, Greenville Center for Creative Arts for our first art exhibit, Step Out Of Stigma. Visual art provides a cathartic release of pent-up, stigmatized topics such as anxiety and depression. It can evoke an emotional response in the process but also be produced through the lens of the spectator. Let’s stop dancing around mental health conversations. In Step Out Of Stigma artists, Eli Warren, Nick Burns, Sherrill Hill, Will Crooks, Mimi Wyche, Lisa Steffens, Traci Martin, Savannah Rose Ralph, Barbara Castaneda, Lisa M. Shimko, and Terrell Washington open up discussions surrounding mental health conditions through a variety of techniques and mediums. Their work represents the dark, depressive days, the chaotic, anxious days as well as the days filled with light and hope. This show is of special meaning as it opens on Walt’s Birthday. We hope you will join us.
May 4, 2022
Step Out Of Stigma - Fete Greenville
Thank you, Jay and the team of Fete Greenville! Take a look at Walt’s Waltz’s upcoming art exhibit Step Out of Stigma.
March 2022
“Women of Impact” - Town Magazine
Grateful to Town for the article by Leigh Savage on the City of Women Greenville exhibition at the Greenville Center for Creative Arts. The piece, Sound of a Mother’s Hope, won the People’s Choice Award. Congratulations, Savannah Rose Ralph for this accomplishment and for her dedication to normalizing conversations surrounding mental health through her inspiring art.
February 23, 2022
“Walt’s Waltz founder says time is right to fund mental health ‘moonshot’”
Greenville Journal - Upstate Business Journal - Jay King’s interview - Click Here
November 2, 2021
Dabo’s All In Team Foundation!
“Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that your organization has been selected to receive grant funding from Dabo’s All In Team Foundation for the 2021 – 2022 grant cycle! We received close to 230 grant requests this year, which is the most we have ever received, and our committee worked hard to spread the available monies across as many organizations as possible.” We just had to share this amazing news! We are so grateful!
October 2021
“25 Most Beautiful Women in the Upstate” Talk Magazine
Susan Crooks, founder of the grassroots nonprofit, Walt’s Waltz is featured in Talk Greenville as one of the 25 Most Beautiful Women in the Upstate. Full Article
September 12, 2021
Walt’s Waltz Raffle Rouser a Rousing Success
We are Walt’s Waltz and are grateful to all who participated! Met with open arms and smiles from folks willing to donate raffle items, purchase tickets, share S.M. posts, tape “old school” posters in shop windows, and word-of-mouth promotions of our raffle, we are humbled and honored for your support. Special thanks to Will Crooks for capturing the beauty of each item being raffled. This event would not have happened if not for the tireless efforts of Walt’s Waltz board member, Tara Davis. Thank you, Tara!
August 2021
Will Harper Announcement
During an interview with Will Harper and Dr. Tracy Cooper, Will surprises Susan Crooks with some exciting news about their upcoming documentary Sensitive Men Rising. Take a look.
June 3, 2021
M.I.N.D was featured: The Power of Young People to Change the World
Walt’s Waltz is so proud of the founders of M.I.N.D. They were featured on the radio show The Power of Young People to Change the World. Episode description: “Mental Illness Needs to be Destigmatized.” This was the founding idea of M.I.N.D., a service-learning project started by five high school students to address the urgent lack of conversations around mental health in their community. Recently, their impact was duly recognized by a national Youth Leadership in Service-Learning Excellency Award. Join us this week to hear from Tracy, Nomy, Nina, Fabienne, and Joscelynn, as well as their leader, Colleen DiDonato, about their passion for this important topic and their award-winning work on the M.I.N.D. project. Congratulations! Please take a few moments to listen.
May 22, 2021
Liberia: VEFIL’s volunteers participate in Walt’s Waltz mental health training
Five volunteers of the Vulnerable Empowerment Foundation International Liberia (VEFIL), a non-governmental organization, are participating in a 4-day online mental health training. Walt’s Waltz, an international organization based in the United States, is conducting the training. Walt’s Waltz was founded by Susan Crooks. See the article featured in MC Modern Ghana.
May 8, 2021
Walt’s Waltz Works to Sweep Away the Stigma of Mental Health Conditions
Will and Susan Crooks's interview by Alex Cooper featured in the Greenville Journal “Walt’s Waltz works to sweep away stigma of mental health conditions”.
May 5, 2021
Fete Greenville: “Walt’s Waltz - Hope after the Downbeat”
Susan Crooks’s article published in Fete Greenville Walt's Waltz - Hope after the Downbeat We are grateful to Jay and the rest of the team at Fete Greenville who helped advance our mission.
April 15, 2021
Congratulations M.I.N.D.
Walt’s Waltz is proud to have partnered with Foundation Academy Collegiate and their students: Tracy Barrientos, Joscelynn Bernal, Nina Brown, Nomy Yanes-Castro, and Fabienne Traversiere. We want to congratulate them on the amazing initiative they call “Mental Illness Needs to be Destigmatized,” or “M.I.N.D.” These students participated in the National Youth Leadership Council competition and were the sole winners of the National Youth Leadership for Service-Learning Excellence Award for their first-of-its-kind community initiative to destigmatize mental health and raise awareness of resources.
March 19, 2021
Walt’s Waltz Stigma-Free Zones
WSPA’s Jamarcus Gaston interview with Susan Crooks - A Mother's Mission
November 6, 2020
GCCA becomes the first Walt’s Waltz Stigma-Free Zone
Susan Crooks presents the executive director of Greenville Center for Creative Arts, Kim Fabian, with the award - Walt’s Waltz Stigma-Free Zone
September 2020
SC Mental Health Department: There Is Hope
WYFF’s Nolan Blair invited Susan Crooks to inspire hope - Let's Step Out of Stigma
September 2020
Fete Greenville's article entitled “Walt’s Waltz”
One story, one life well-lived can move others to change. Walt’s Waltz by Susan Crooks
March 2020
Susan Crooks is interviewed about Walt’s Waltz
Carolina Conference Call / Listen to Interview Here
March 2020
Susan Crooks on Suicide Prevention and Removing the Stigma of Mental Health
Teachers Aligned with Todd Scholl / Listen to the Podcast Here
January 2020
“Ray of Hope: In honor of her son and his valiant fight against mental illness, Susan Crooks seeks to amplify the conversation around depression and anxiety”
TOWN Magazine / Read The Article Here
October 2019
New nonprofit Walt's Waltz working with SC Universities to better understand mental illness
WYFF 4 News / Watch The Video Here
October 2019
“Upstate mom raises awareness after son dies by suicide”
WSPA 7 News / Watch The Video Here
SPONSORED BY ELLIOTT DAVIS, PAC IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE PREMIER ARTS COLLECTIVE ART WALK ON THE CAMPERDOWN PLAZA AND ART GALLERY LOCATED IN THE FALLS TOWER LOBBY.
Behind every piece of art is a story of hope. Some stories come from PAC programs around the world, using the arts therapeutically to bring healing for those who have suffered from trauma and abuse. Other stories are the testimonies of the artists themselves. As you explore the Premier Arts Collective Art Walk and Art Gallery, allow these stories to impact you.
PAC Art Gallery Hours:
Monday – Friday
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
THE ART WALK FEATURED ARTIST NICK BURNS A.K.A. “NINJA PICASSO
ABOUT THIS WORK
“GENTLE GIANT”
The piece was created in honor of Walt Crooks, a teacher whose life mission was to reduce suffering, and because of this, Crooks impacted the lives of many individuals. Suffering from anxiety and depression, Crooks lost the battle on August 22, 2019. Crooks’ life mission was further carried out by family members, Will Crooks and Susan Crooks, who created an organization called Walt’s Waltz. Crooks’ story touched the artist who channeled the pain from dealing with a season of anxiety and depression into the piece.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Nick Burns a.k.a. “Ninja Picasso” is a multi-disciplinary visual and
performing artist from Greenville, South Carolina. Burns’ style is inspired by the raw soul of street art and the refinement of the Renaissance. Burns uses the tag NJAP, meaning “Not Just A Painting,” because of the belief that there is a story to be told in all of Burns’ work.
At the early age of five, Burns began exploring the arts while playing drums at a Baptist church and drawing on the back of sermon programs. Burns developed into a caricature artist and teaching performance artist in Greenville and has been inspiring young aspiring artists for over a decade. Burns’ professional art journey began in 2012 but became a full-time passion in 2018 after earning a residency at Greenville Center for Creative Arts in West Greenville.
For booking information, contact gene@premierartscollective.com.
https://premierartscollective.com/artwalk/