Coordinator: Lisa Bartoli
Mission Statement: Foster an inclusive community that empowers through creative expression, education, and inspiration.
Description: Art Therapy Express is a nonprofit organization that provides innovative, therapeutic arts programming throughout the state of Delaware. Art Therapy Express is designed for outreach and in 2019 won the Governor’s Award for the Arts for Community Engagement. Art Therapy Express aims to return to serve our pre-pandemic audience of over 1,000 children and adults with mild to severe intellectual, physical, emotional, and communication disabilities in schools, hospitals, residential facilities, group homes, day programs, and in their Kaleidoscope Adapted Art Studio located at New Castle County’s Department of Community Services Art Studio.
Art Therapy Express strives to address the emotional well-being of the community through stress reduction, fostering positive behaviors, and implementing emotional support groups for program participants and caregivers. This is often accomplished by promoting individual self-expression and empowerment through the use of adaptive technology with custom-designed tools, art media, and equipment that can accommodate children and adults with a wide range of disabilities. Art offers a new form of self-expression and provides joy to individuals who are nonverbal or who have difficulty communicating. The creative art programs offered by Art Therapy Express also decrease the isolation often experienced by people with disabilities, and inclusive social interactions foster increased understanding, empathy and problem-solving skills among volunteers and interns.
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Art Therapy Express strives to make the transformative benefits of art accessible to our entire community, irrespective of cultural background, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, mental health diagnosis, or disability.
In pursuit of racial equity and inclusivity, Art Therapy Express is deeply committed to fostering diversity and inclusiveness in both our organization and the wider community. We are resolute in our mission and core values of creativity, quality of care, empowerment, inclusiveness, collaboration, and accountability, ensuring that our programs, staff, and board embody these principles.
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The partnerships between university interns and Art Therapy Express will also have a lasting impact in the years to come. These students, from a variety of fields, are becoming the professionals of tomorrow and their interactions with program participants have altered their perception of the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and their families. This may be reflected in the design of more accessible equipment, IT platforms and art programs in the years to come. For example, as a result of their interactions with Art Therapy Express participants, sixty mechanical engineering students at Concord High School are creating adapted paintbrushes, paint machines and accessible easels to assist individuals with disabilities to independently engage in their creative art endeavors.
Lisa Bartoli, the Executive Director of Art Therapy Express, leads workshops for public school teachers, organizations, university students and others on how to build bridges between people of all abilities.
In all of these ways, Art Therapy Express addresses its mission of fostering an inclusive community that empowers through creative expression, education, and inspiration.
Art Therapy Express marked its 20th year!
With a 20-year nonprofit organization history, Art Therapy Express Program provides enriching visual and expressive art therapy and education sessions, utilizing innovative adaptive technology and mixed media to enhance friendships, creativity, self-expression, and joy! ATE serves children and adults with physical, intellectual, emotional, and communication disabilities with group and individual sessions offered via in-person studio or community venues and virtual program formats.
