Producer and activist ASW launches Grooving For Good, a not-for-profit school program that mixes artwork and music with psychological well being advocacy
On Thursday, Might 19, Grooving For Good will launch on the College of Washington – hosted by scholar group Pup Assist, in partnership with Tommie Sunshine, SPIN Journal, and the nation’s largest psychological well being nonprofit NAMI Grooving For Good will welcome 400 college students for a day of free programming together with an interactive panel dialogue, a portray and drawing session, and a closing artwork showcase.
It’s been practically a decade since singer-songwriter-producer Alex Wagner was recognized with bipolar dysfunction and positioned on an involuntary maintain in a hospital’s psychological well being wing. Since then, his difficult but inspiring years of restoration manifested in his ASW producer venture, which focuses on fostering psychological well being conversations, consciousness and advocacy by way of artistic mediums.
After being a panelist on Machine Gun Kelly and SPIN Magazine’s collaborative Charity Art Show final fall, in addition to internet hosting a fundraising livestream sequence final summer time which raised practically $10,000 for nonprofit Crisis Text Line, the Seattle-based artist has based his personal not-for-profit program known as Grooving For Good. The newly-minted group creates secure areas for school youth to discover their psychological well being, educates college students about assets accessible in instances of disaster, and amplifies hope and resilience by way of artwork and music.
On Thursday, Might 19, Grooving For Good will debut at The College of Washington in partnership with acclaimed digital music producer/fellow psychological well being advocate Tommie Sunshine, the nation’s largest psychological well being non-profit NAMI, student-run group Pup Support, and media companion SPIN Magazine who will livestream all the Grooving For Good expertise for the entire world to get pleasure from.
In its mission to combine dance music into psychological well being conversations with school youth, Grooving For Good will ship a free, first-of-its-kind scholar expertise in two elements: The Backyard and The Dahlia Expertise.
First, The Backyard will invite college students to affix an interactive panel that includes Tommie Sunshine, NAMI, Pup Assist, and Wagner himself to debate hope, resilience, empowerment, and assist. Contributors will even be given artwork supplies to attract as they discover these vital constructing blocks of wellbeing. Afterwards, The Dahlia Expertise will encourage college students to current their poetry, music, dance, and artwork on stage with high-end manufacturing to light up their tales. Tommie Sunshine and ASW will then conclude the on-campus artwork exhibitions with their very own DJ performances.
As a result of Grooving For Good will likely be free for taking part college students, ASW has launched a GoFundMe to offset occasion bills like venue charges, staffing, manufacturing, and artwork supplies for over 400 attendees. The GoFundMe has already raised greater than $2,000 in direction of the final word aim of $25,000. Pup Assist will even obtain 10% of the overall quantity raised by crowdfunding for his or her future on-campus initiatives on campus.
Wagner is not any stranger to propelling advocacy by way of music; following the Pulse Nightclub taking pictures in 2016, he organized Amplify Love fundraising concert events at Seattle’s Kremwerk and Portland’s Hawthorne Theater which benefited Homosexual Metropolis in Seattle and Q Middle in Portland, respectively. A Licensed Peer Counselor within the state of Washington, Wagner has additionally volunteered as a Disaster Counselor for Disaster Textual content Line, and just lately launched his weekly mental health column ‘Bloom’ via SPIN Magazine’.
As a singer-songwriter-producer, ASW has launched his rock-fueled digital soundscapes through Atlantic Records, Big Beat Records, Brooklyn Fire Records, and Popgang Records, and was spotlighted by DJ Magazine as ‘an emerging artist-to-watch’.