WHEN: Thursday, May 22

TIME: 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Empire State Plaza
               South Concourse
               Albany, NY 12224

WHO: Dr. Ann Sullivan, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health; Jeanette Moy, Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services; Dr. Mitra Reyhani Ghadim, Director, the Living Museum; others.

WHAT: Commissioner Sullivan and Commissioner Moy will tour and briefly discuss the temporary exhibit of artwork from the Living Museum, an internationally renowned hub of artists who are recovering from mental illness at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens. Hosted in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, the gallery opened this week and features 60 reproductions that will be on display on easels at the south end of the plaza’s concourse level through the end of May.

BACKGROUND: Located on Creedmoor’s campus in Queens Village, the Living Museum provides an art studio dedicated to artwork produced by residents of Creedmoor programs. The studio was established in 1983 after Dr. Janos Marton, a psychologist at Creedmoor, invited Polish artist Bolek Greczynski to join the hospital staff. Together, Marton and Greczynski –who became the museum’s first director –transformed an abandoned cafeteria building on the campus into the studio. Now one of the largest of its kind, the museum supports roughly 70 individuals and has served as an international inspiration for recovery through the arts.