A special group of young people still trying to heal from Superstorm Sandy will display their photos in Asbury Park this Saturday, and they really want you there.

"Message Me: HOPE" is a project where teens affected by Hurricane Sandy get to display some of their incredible work. The exhibit will feature very special photos from ten middle and high schoolers ranging in age from 12 - 17.

Please come out to the Art Tank of Asbury,  from 5 pm - 7 pm,  this Saturday, March 7th, 529 Bangs Avenue. It would mean so much to these teens if they could have the support of Monmouth and Ocean County residents coming out to view their very first photo exhibit.

Meridian Health partnered with the Collective Art Tank Studio to host this exhibit. The show will display a culmination of photographs the teens have developed over the course of several healing photo and art classes.

From Riverview Medical Center's award-winning Art Therapy Program, Message Me: HOPE explores how and where the teens discovered hope in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Collective Art Tank
(photo by liz jeressi)
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As Jimmy Leslie, the Director of The fine Art Collective says, "Message Me: HOPE is a brilliant program that offers teenagers from Monmouth and Ocean Counties a creative outlet for handling stress and recovery. The Art Therapy Program at Riverview Medical Center aligns perfectly with our mission, and we are pleased to be able to use our downtown studio space to support this cause."

Crucial to creating resilience, hope is essential to establishing a favorable recovery following disaster. Working with professional photographer Colleen Leslie and Riverview Medical Center's board-certified art therapist Mary Gambarony, the ten participating teens will display their sources of hope in the gallery exhibit.

In addition to the Message Me: HOPE classes and gallery exhibit, the Art Therapy Program at Riverview Medical Center offers healing-art programs to disaster-recovery victims, those affected by chronic and terminal illness, death, cancer, and more. Founded in 1980, the program was one of the first of its kind in the Northeast. To learn more about the Art Therapy Program at Riverview Medical Center, CLICK HERE.

The Collective Art Tank is also committed to community outreach by working with and supporting local arts groups in an effort to make Asbury Park and Monmouth County an art destination in the tri-state area. Professional artists who are looking for a space to teach their own classes are encouraged to contact the Collective Art Tank. For more information about The Collective Art Tank, CLICK HERE.

The Collective Art Tank in the collaboration of John Viggiano, an artist, gallery owner and graphic designer based in Asbury Park, and industry leaders in fine arts materials Liquitex, Winsor & Newton and Conte a Paris. The education-based collective aims to support artists in Asbury Park and surrounding areas with technique-based demos, workshops and classes, samples of art materials, and exhibition opportunities.

By the way, this opening runs in conjunction with First Saturday in Asbury Park. The first Saturday of each month is an evening where the restaurants, galleries and shops in Asbury stay open later so you can enjoy walking around the vicinity and discovering some really wonderful places around the art studio! I have been enjoying some great galleries, art displays, and shopping and dining around the Cookman Ave/Bangs Ave area, right on down to some of the nice places along the ocean and lake. CLICK HERE to find out more!

 

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