Promoting the Healing Power of Art
The Art Therapy Initiative is a philanthropic initiative focused on raising awareness for the healing power of art as a vital need in the modern world. A portion of the revenue from the sale of .ART domains goes to support The Art Therapy Initiative and its non-profit partners.
“It's time to remember that art has a therapeutic effect and start sharing art, its practices, and impressions to begin the process of global healing and recovery."
Ulvi Kasimov, .ART Founder
Benefits of Art Therapy
Art therapy is a recognized form of psychotherapy that uses creative processes to improve mental health, self-awareness, and personal growth. It can reduce stress and anxiety, improve communication skills, aid conflict resolution and identity exploration, and provide a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Art therapy is a versatile and powerful tool for emotional healing and personal development.
Watch our short film "The Healing Powers of Art"
Championing Digital Innovation at 2024 AAM Meeting in Baltimore
The .ART team attended the AAM (American Alliance of Museums) annual meeting in Baltimore, themed “Thriving Museums, Healthy Communities.” The .ART Registry sponsored the Keynote panel, featuring Renee Fleming, NEA Chair Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, and Reginald F. Lewis Museum Executive Director Terri Lee Freeman. Art therapy boards, powered by ID.art, showcased works by Medina Kasimova and George Washington University students, inviting personal reflections and demonstrating the potential of ID.art. The .ART team also promoted ID.art at the Museum Shop Association exhibition, highlighting its benefits for authenticating and contextualizing museum souvenirs.
.ART Premieres
'The Healing Powers of Art' Film
The .ART team attended the annual meeting of the American Alliance of Museums, where we premiered our new short film, "The Healing Powers of Art." Inspired by Medina Kasimova, the film explores how art has been a sanctuary and means of expression for her since childhood, reflecting the therapeutic power of art. It features experts like Heidi Bardot from George Washington University and Melinda Riddle McCoy of the ELM Foundation. The premiere generated significant interest, emphasizing art's role in personal and community healing.
.ART attends the American Alliance of Museums Meeting 2023
At the 2023 American Alliance of Museums Expo, .ART held a session "Art Therapy in Museums: Unlocking Mental Wellness for Communities & Beyond", led by Heidi Bardot from George Washington University. The session explored innovative ways to weave Art Therapy into museum experiences, boosting mental well-being for all. A key exercise had attendees draw their emotional responses to an artwork, highlighting the power of non-verbal self-expression. Join us as we continue to delve into Art Therapy's transformative potential in museums and beyond.
.ART Commits $1 Million Endowment to GW's Art Therapy Graduate Program
As part of the ongoing initiative, .ART has pledged a $1 million endowment for graduate fellowships for students in the Art Therapy Program at George Washington University. The endowment will support deserving students to complete the graduate program and provide art therapy services to a broader community, especially in these particularly stressful times. The Art Therapy Program, which is part of GW's Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, is one of the first of its kind in the United States. Students explore all aspects of art therapy, trauma training and diagnosis, and complete 900 internship hours with direct client contact in the on-campus clinic.
Activities
Partners & supporters
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Ulvi and Reikhan Kasimovs, the founders of .ART Domains, have always been active philanthropists, having supported several initiatives including the Jerusalem-based Shalva, an organisation dedicated to the provision of transformative care for individuals with disabilities, the empowerment of their families and the promotion of social inclusion.
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Back in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 quarantine, Reikhan started a charity campaign called "Flowers for Medics" as a way to show appreciation for medical workers during the pandemic. The public was invited to create flower paintings using any medium and submit them under the hashtag #Flowers4Medics. The campaign received widespread recognition and was picked up by museums and galleries, including The Multimedia Art Museum, which hosted an exhibition of the collected works and held a charity auction at the end of the exhibition. The proceeds were split between families of doctors and health workers who passed away during the pandemic and artists who found themselves in difficult financial situations.
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This is when the idea of the Art Therapy Initiative was conceived as an important ongoing mission to be supported by the business of .ART domains. The therapeutic importance of Art resonates on a very personal level for the Kasimov family. Ulvi and Reikhan’s daughter Medina has a speech disability, yet found her voice through art. Today she is an established artist in her own right with a solo exhibition. For Medina, art was instrumental in the process of finding her voice, not just through painting as a medium, but in life itself.
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As a cornerstone of the Art Therapy Initiative, .ART pledges a portion of .ART domain sales to support a scholarship endowment for graduate fellowships for students in the Art Therapy Program at George Washington University in Washington D.C. This is the first step in an ongoing mission to support Art Therapy that will include a series of virtual activities to explore a wide range of art therapy topics with GWU and other partners of the Initiative.