As a lot of you know, I recently launched my first NFT collection, Reflections, which sold out in an hour of all 3,333 NFTs. This incredible success has allowed me to include Art Is The Cure in the roadmap for the project which involves running talks or workshops in 10 schools, as well as donating $10,000 to mental health organisations.
I am now looking to find schools to form relationships with who would be open to the idea of letting me come in, talk to students about creative therapy and tell my story about how art became my cure and how I formed this organisation.
I am also happy to spend time with students, talking about how I developed a career in the creative industry and the steps I took once I left school. I can also give talks about my practices as an artist and the art forms, styles and artists who inspire me.
As much as I am currently based in the UK, if the right opportunity to come and spend time in a school in other countries comes up where we could combine the visit with other projects in the community, producing a mural or leaving an impact in some capacity, I would love to speak to people from around the world to fulfil the goal of visiting more schools and people to promote this cause.
Please contact hello@artisthecure.org to see if we can make something incredible happen together!
"Depression, anxiety, sexual and gender identity, bullying, mental and physical abuse, disorders and disabilities… Challenging conditions and circumstances can lead to a lifetime of pain and devastating consequences for young people in the forms of low self-esteem and self-worth, hate, harm to themselves, harm to others, substance abuse or worse- suicide."
"Working in public education as a visual art teacher and fine arts administrator for over 25 years I have witnessed too often the suffering from these types of conditions and situations. Youth are robbed from confidence, independent thinking, positive outlook and creative expression. Negative words, actions, difficult diagnoses, can further weaken a person into believing they are not good enough, damaged or worthless, preventing them from seeing the strong, intelligent and creative individuals that they are."
"Rich Simmons’ Art is the Cure is a sanctuary! Beyond a digital portal it is a universal platform with cause, acceptance, and encouragement providing a creative connection to healing, learning, and expression. Art is the Cure mission is to build a community that believes creative expression can provide confidence and strength to overcome negative and challenging experiences in life. Art is the Cure is not just Rich’s story of struggle and perseverance it is a continuous saga of all of our stories. We have a brief and precious journey on this planet, everyone deserves the fulfilment of their life’s potential. That is what Rich Simmons challenged the student body of our small school in Northwest Arkansas to do during one of his trips to the United States. His visit made a lasting impact within our school and community. Students recognise that challenging circumstances and difficult conditions do not define who they are and that one person with enough confidence and courage can make a tremendous impact and difference."
"Thank you Rich for inspiring our students to use their creativity to break negative barriers and discover their cure to transform themselves into confident, artistic individuals who desire to help motivate others through creativity."
Aaron Jones
Director of Arts Integration
Arkansas Arts Academy, Rogers, Arkansas USA
