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07/08/2005
LAND Puts Spotlight On Exceptional Artists
By Bianca Shmulevich
 (From left) Lloyd I. Sederer, M.D. Executive Deputy Commissioner, Mental Hygiene Services, NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene;
and Hannah Achtenberg Kinn, Executive Director, The League Treatment Center;
celebrate the ribbon
cutting ceremony at 67 Front St.
Photo
by Claudio Papapietro
Looking at the variety of original artwork that lines the walls of the new LAND gallery in DUMBO, one would never notice a difference between the other art galleries in the artistic neighborhood; but the work has been created by mentally disabled individuals who are getting some long-deserved recognition.
LAND, the League Artists Natural Design, located at 67 Front Street, is the first of its kind in Brooklyn. It enables emotionally disturbed, neurologically and developmentally disabled adults to develop and showcase their artistic talents.
The organization held a ribbon-cutting at its new home last week, and will open its doors to the public in October.
LAND is the newest project of The League Treatment Center, a non-profit agency that has been working with mentally disabled adults and children for over 50 years. Currently, it hosts arts classes in a variety of other venues.
“It’s a long dream come true,” Hannah Achtenberg Kinn, executive director of the center, said. “Too often the focus is on disability, now we are focusing on abilities.”
Achtenberg Kinn is an established landscape artist, and has always encouraged her clients to explore their own creativity.
“Many of our clients have been doing absolutely fantastic work that was not being recognized,” Carol Kasmin, director of Strategic Planning at the center, said. “We needed a venue to display their work, and this is what we came up with.”
The idea for the new gallery began with the European “Outsider” Artists movement, which showcased the work of unconventional artists, including those locked up in mental institutions. Drawing from that idea, the organization began to showcase the creative output of the population it serves.
“There was a fantastic response,” Kasmin said. “There was a demand for the artwork; many people were interested.”
The Center then contacted the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), which funded part of the studio and gallery space that is now under construction for a formal opening in the fall. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are providing additional program support.
“Perhaps someday one of our artists will paint the next Mona Lisa,” board member, Robert F. Gartland, of Morgan Stanley said.
The LAND gallery is displaying work by clients of the League Treatment Center, but it is open to any members of the community to submit original artwork.
“Before this, no one ever appreciated the work our clients did,” said Kasmin, who has worked at the center for over 20 years. “This gives them a sense of dignity, a sense of self worth that they have never experienced before. Now they are seeing their work being admired, and they are feeling excited for the opportunity to be a part of the community.”
Achtenberg Kinn agrees the change in their clients’ attitudes have been significant. “They are beaming,” she said.
“Everyone responds to color, design, and beauty. How wonderful not only to be surrounded by it, but to have created it.”
Starting in October, the gallery will be open from Monday to Friday during normal business hours.
For more information call 718-643-5300.
©Courier-Life Publications 2005
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