Mental health art show scheduled

Feb. 01--The Rappahannock Area Community Services Board is seeking entries for its 11th annual "The Art of Recovery" exhibit in May that features artwork by adults with mental health challenges.

Members of the Kenmore Club, the services board's psychosocial clubhouse for adults with severe and persistent mental illness, organize the event each year.

The exhibit will open May 1 at Ponshop Studio and Gallery on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg. The opening is designed to coincide with the "First Friday" are celebration downtown.

The exhibit will run through May 24, coinciding with National Mental Health Month.

Artists with mental illness can use the annual exhibit as a way to gain confidence in their abilities, address misconceptions about mental illness and experience support from the community.

The services board will accept original drawings, paintings, sculpture, textiles, prints, mixed media and ceramics.

People wishing to participating by submitting art need to contact Helen Conley by April 1. Submissions may be done through photographs.

To get an entry form and instructions for display, visit racsb.state.va.us. Entries must be accompanied by a completed entry form with:

--Name of the artist

--Year of completion, if known

--Locale of the artist

--Dimensions of the art

--Medium

--Sale price.

Ponshop will then add a reasonable commission on all artwork that is sold.

Selections of pieces for the exhibit will be made by April 10.

Contact Conley at 540/373-7737 or artofrecovery@racsb.state.va.us. Submissions also may be mailed to RACSB, Attn: Art of Recovery, 600 Jackson St., Fredericksburg, VA 22401.

The Rappahannock Area Community Services Board was founded in 1970. It provides public mental health, intellectual disability, substance abuse, and prevention/early intervention services to residents of the city of Fredericksburg and counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford.

The agency operates five outpatient clinics that provide individual, group and family therapy, along with specialized counseling and case management services, psychological assessment, 24-hour crisis intervention and medical management services.

The agency also operates 13 homes for adults with intellectual disability, providing 24-hour intensive and structured support, as well as the Myers Drive Respite Group Home.

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