The Undercroft of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is the site for the Art in Recovery exhibit Friday and Saturday, August 23–24. Presented in partnership with the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County, selections are by local artists who share how they celebrate their own creativity and recovery. The exhibit can also be viewed after the 10 a.m. service at St. Luke’s on Sunday, August 25.
Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will hold an opening event tonight for the 2024 Art in Recovery exhibit.
The show will feature a collection of various types of art, including paintings, fiber arts, and photography. All are created by participants in the weekly Art in Recovery classes at both MHA’s Jamestown and Dunkirk recovery centers. The works are an artistic expression of their own creativity and personal recovery.
Facilitators of the Jamestown Art in Recovery group are MHA Activities Director Dianne Valvo and volunteer Brandon Griggs. Volunteer Wing Haight-Wills facilitates the Dunkirk group.
The exhibit opening will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 pm tonight with more opportunities for viewing from 10:00 a.m.to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 24 and after St. Luke’s 10:00 a.m. service on Sunday, August 25.
The church is located on the corner of 4th and Main streets in downtown Jamestown, and the exhibit is in the Undercroft, whose entrance is on 4th Street.
The exhibit was created to raise awareness of International Overdose Awareness Day, a global event held August 31 each year to remember those gone too soon from overdoses and to commit to preventing these deaths, from the workplace to anyplace.
This event is made possible in part by support from the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County Projects Pool Grants Program. It is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
Recovery-themed events continue over the weekend, with St. Luke’s Recovery Sunday service on August 25. This is their annual commemoration of International Overdose Awareness Day, remembering those who died from overdoses in the last year. While acknowledging there is still more work to do to reduce overdose deaths, it will also celebrate that they are down in Chautauqua County this year, in part due to the availability of Narcan, which saves lives by reversing the effects of an overdose.
Following the 10:00 a.m. service, St. Luke’s is organizing a prayer walk to Spring Street, where 30% of the county’s fatal overdoses have occurred. The prayer walk will depart from St. Luke’s at noon.
For more details on the walk and route, contact the church office at (716) 483-6405 or stlukes@stlukesjamestown.org.
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