Tisch Fund Gives $10 Million to Initiative for Arts and Mental Health
The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund has pledged $10 million to fund arts programs focused on mental health issues in New York City.
The new initiative is an open-ended commitment that seeks to improve the lives of those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, fight stigma around mental illnesses and help people overcome trauma.
The nonprofit Arts & Minds, for example, takes people with Alzheimer’s disease into museums for tours and hands-on projects in order to spur emotional connections and stimulate memories. The organization will receive a grant it can use to add resources, enlarge its staff or expand its programming into other museums.
“It’s a very lean organization with tremendous potential and so much demand,” Rick Luftglass, the executive director of the Tisch Illumination Fund, said in a phone interview.
Other grant recipients include the NYC Mural Arts Project, which seeks to de-stigmatize mental health issues through public art, and Gibney Dance, which hosts workshops for survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse...