A Collection of Creative Decisions was produced at the Einstein Long Term Structured Residence (LTSR) in East Germantown. The LTSR provides long-term care to adult patients with chronic mental illness, many of whom are non-verbal. Artist James Burns worked with project participants who were able to express themselves through cut paper composition, monoprints made from ink and plastic, and paint. The resulting mural based on their designs is a collage: a beautiful representation of the conversations we can have through art.

As Burns explains in his artist’s statement: “There was not a hard, fast theme but I wanted the process to be inclusive at a high level. I wanted [LTSR project participants] to all have a stake in the design process. The title A Collection of Creative Decisions reflects back to the process of individual making that included collage, print making, painting and drawing, and how the creative pieces can fit together to form a larger whole. So the composition is a very loose narrative but exists more as a structure to house the individual works. It evolved through play and materials exploration, and it has a joy and immediacy that I believe reflects the community who helped to create it.”

For more information about this project see here.