Today, we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Laing.
Hi Sarah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi – I moved to Coconut Grove in June of 2023 from Chicago with my family. I knew Miami had a lot of contemporary art but had yet to really explore the full extent of it. The city has absolutely enamored me with the arts, and I find it immensely stimulating.
I can attend an art event or a workshop, hang out in my studio, and engage in community programs daily. I feel a strong spiritual connection to how I have arrived and acclimated here, especially with my new studio mates at Red Thread Art Studio Miami. I am so grateful to the women artists who have been so welcoming to me.
Sarah is a registered art therapist (ATR). Through a number of leadership roles in community, education, and healthcare settings, she is known as a proven catalyst for creative expression. She is passionate about emotional learning and the arts.
Sarah is an Art Therapist for the Art Cares program at the Bass Museum of Art, at Galen Hope Mental Health in Coral Gables, and with Arts4All Florida. She serves children, adolescents, young adults, and families through her art therapy work. Sarah is a practicing artist and is a member of the Fiber Arts Association of Miami.
Previously, Sarah served as a non-profit director at an arts service organization in Chicago. Sarah contributed as an administrator, trainer/supervisor, and facilitator and worked with a diverse range of populations. She launched social-emotional learning art curriculums for Chicagoland schools and opened multiple new studio spaces. Sarah led the organization through expansion and quadrupled the non-profit budget during her tenure, which included riding out the pandemic, staffing, and implementing much-needed mental health art programming.
Sarah has curated a range of gallery exhibits and events with artists and community organizations, as well as having exhibited her own mixed media work. A strong advocate of community arts, mental health awareness, and education, she has implemented dozens of arts outreach programs. In addition, Sarah has created several public art projects with local artists.
Sarah excels in fostering creative talent in others, networking with cultural and non-profit leaders, and building capacity for community initiatives. Sarah has an MA in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BS in Studio Art from Skidmore College, NY, and completed a program in Public Art at the Chelsea College of Art, London.
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Miami is a large city, and I arrived here in the thick of the summer heat. I wasn’t aware that a lot of Miamians leave in the summer, so it felt quiet. However, I started to meet artists through my work at the Bass Creativity Center and was able to get connected to a group chat of Miami women artists. This gave me so much information about what was happening around town. I soon discovered that there were many workshops available at area museums and spaces.
I had the chance to discover printmaking at Oolite, coral reef clay-making with environmental artist Beatriz Chachamovits at MOCA, and watercolor with Angela Bolanos of PAMM, and I went to discover exhibits all over. I immediately fell in love with the Rubbell Museum and Espacio 23, which has, I think, the most incredible show in Miami right now of “To Weave the Sky” textiles from the Perez collection. It was through Angela that I discovered the incredible space and presence of Aurora Molina and Playstudio Atelier.
Upon arriving there, I quickly knew it was a gem of a creative space (as I think many people experience). Having worked with children in much of my practice as an art therapist, I knew this was a special place I felt at home. I had done a lot of fiberarts work earlier in my career and knew this was a budding scene for textile arts. Low and behold I found my place at Red Thread Art Studio in January.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have been an Art Therapist for over 20 years and have spent the bulk of my career in Chicago. I am a strong advocate of community arts, mental health awareness, and education. My strength is in fostering creative talent in others, networking with cultural and non-profit leaders, and building capacity for community initiatives.
Art Therapy & Teaching Artist Experience:
-20+ years as an Artist Facilitator at Open Studio Project with adults and youth, leading professional development & training.
-Coordinated numerous school collaborative art projects, after-school studios, programs, and clubs;
-Art Specialist in Schools trained in choice-based “Teaching for Artistic Behavior,” directed public art projects with community groups and schools.
-Art Therapist in clinical settings, including hospitals and community mental health centers.
-Provide art therapy for special needs children and various psychiatric/medical challenges;
-Graduate Supervisor & Guest lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Adler School of Professional Psychology, and at professional conferences and workshops.
I am most proud of the work that I did during the pandemic to address the teen mental health crisis. I helped our non-profit organization survive during a very challenging period. I was able to lean in, operationalize, and build a lot of art therapy programming quickly. It warms my heart that so much of this is still in place today, helping people.
Here are some things my colleagues have said about me (on my LinkedIn page):
“I have known and worked with Sarah Laing for over 25 years. She is amazingly creative and passionate about art therapy and art education, bringing a high level of dedication, determination, and energy to all her projects. This, coupled with her leadership and organizational skills, makes her an invaluable asset to any organization. I can undoubtedly say that anyone who gets to have Sarah on their team is very lucky.” – Colleen Ostrander, Art Therapist.
“Sarah knows art therapy, the business of running a non-profit, process work, and the value of focused efforts to meet a community’s needs. Sarah’s ability to inspire and enroll others in her vision for the better is amazing! She is well-read and practical, and she never hesitates to ask for help, insight, and experience from others. In my 35 years of experience coaching executives, I have seen that these are the traits any organization would value in a leader.”
Sarah has a quieter spirit, which some may describe as introverted, which may be true. What I’ve observed: a good listener and thoughtful professional. Once she gathers relevant information, validates it, adds years of experience and consulting with experts, she activates her team and her network to pull that initiative through with clarity and elegance of speech.”- Ellen Burton, Executive Coach.
“Sarah is a uniquely gifted organizational leader in arts, mental & emotional health, and education. She carries a clear, high-level vision along with detail-oriented skills that are rarely to be found in one individual. She gets tons of things done and knows how to easily network with a huge range of people. She is committed to helping those most in need. She is immensely creative. And perhaps rarest of all, she can assemble and collaborate with teams of strong associates. A gem. Or maybe a hurricane!” – Ted Harris, Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I have learned an immense amount, both personally and professionally, from the pandemic. I appreciate that it made our culture far more open and aware of mental health needs.
I am particularly passionate about how art therapy can help with mental health after the pandemic. It is one of the main reasons that I have chosen to work with adolescents and young adults at a mental health clinic in Coral Gables. I use art as a catalyst for communication and emotional awareness in my clients, as well as in my own creative process as an artist.
I believe that youth and teen creative expression in the visual arts provides a format for the exploration of issues they may have been struggling with emotionally. Students have missed growth opportunities, especially related to the skills of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship-building, that have resulted in mental health issues increasing among youth.
Anxiety and depression rates have soared as youth struggled to connect with others. Suicide rates also have increased among teens. Individuals from traumatic backgrounds or with difficult cultural and socio-economic circumstances have suffered added losses. Disruptive and risky behaviors have especially been increasing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sarahlaing.weebly.com
- Instagram: @sarahlaingart
- Other: @redthreadartstudiomiami
Image Credits
Dr. Renata Novak, Thomas Jefferson, Biscayne Gardens K-8 Academy, Miami-Dade Public Schools, Arts4All, Florida Program, and Red Thread Art Studio Miami
