Hands-On Art Inspires Home-Grown Awe:
“Feels Like Home” Exhibition Showcases Work by People in Recovery

MURRAY, Ky. – Over a series of hands-on workshops this summer, 40 adults in recovery from addiction explored what “home” means through creative writing and visual art as part of the “Feels Like Home” project. Their creations will be featured in an exhibition opening next week at the Murray Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The project was funded through a $5,000 Arts Access Assistance: Arts and Health grant awarded to The Murray Sentinel by the Kentucky Arts Council and carried out in partnership with the Murray Art Guild (MAG), Serenity Recovery and Neartown Recovery.

The exhibition will open Friday, Aug. 7, at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, 206 S. 4th St., and remain on view through Aug. 14. An opening reception will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m., with a formal welcome and remarks at 5:15 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

The project takes its name from “Feels Like Home,” a Murray tourism tagline that appears on downtown murals, including one on the south side of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Organizers hope the exhibition will celebrate participants’ work, encourage community engagement and help reduce stigma surrounding addiction.

“Participants gained more than just new skills – they gained a sense of belonging,” said Holly Cherry, executive director of Serenity. “The workshops helped people build connections, share experiences and feel more at home in their community and in themselves.”

The Arts Access Assistance program supports arts programming for underserved populations. Projects center on a specific, timely theme and incorporate arts-based strategies to enhance the overall health and well-being of individuals and communities in the Commonwealth.

Award-winning writer Constance Alexander and accomplished artist Debi Henry Danielson, who also serves as MAG’s executive director, led the workshops.
MAG provided space for the workshops. Neartown, an accredited residential treatment center for men recovering from substance use disorders, and Serenity, a 12-month nonresidential recovery program, recruited participants and provided recovery expertise throughout the project.

One participant described the workshop experience as “AWESOME.” In their creative work, another participant evoked the joy of “dancing in the rain,” while a third reflected on how the meaning of home changes as parents age: “The lines of years gone-by etched on their faces.”

Each session began with a discussion of the many meanings of “home.” Some participants reflected on where they grew up, while others imagined the homes they hope to create in the future. Their poems and collages reflected the endless ways “home” can be interpreted.

Whether writing or creating collages, participants worked in a comfortable environment that fostered inspiration. The sounds of pencils on paper and scissors clipping images merged with easy-going conversation and silent concentration on task.

“We consciously created a space that felt open and flowing, that would encourage working together and, hopefully, easily being a part of the whole,” Danielson said of MAG’s new facility, which opened in March. “To me, that feels welcoming.”

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 98% of post-workshop survey responses rating the experience as excellent. Participants praised the “chance to be creative” and the “comfortable and relaxing environment.”

One participant appreciated being challenged “to think deeper than usual.”
Participants also expressed interest in future arts experiences, including learning about divergent forms of poetry and gaining experience with drawing, pottery and sculpture.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, supports Feels Like Home with state tax dollars from the Kentucky General Assembly and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.