The traveling exhibit I Am More will be returning to Crossgates Mall with all new portraits for the month of September. The exhibit features pastel and colored pencil portraits by artist Amy Kerr, accompanied by essays written by individuals describing how they are more than their life challenges. The portraits address mental illness and addiction recovery, coping with medical diagnoses, and surviving trauma. Despite the challenging topics, the message is one of hope and resilience, and sometimes even humor and joy.
New topics this year include depression in the clergy, surviving Covid-19, seeking asylum, and living with Alzheimer’s disease, as recently seen on NBC Boston, featuring subjects Ken and Rose from Shaftsbury, VT, the parents of the artist. The exhibit will also feature the first public unveiling of Aiden, the first collaborative portrait of the project by Amy Kerr and Aiden DeCaro.
Since 2018, I Am More exhibits have been seen in universities, shopping malls, hospitals, libraries and government buildings around the northeast as a reminder that despite our challenges we all have gifts, loves and triumphs to celebrate.
The exhibit includes mental health resources and emergency number cards.
About the Artist
Artist Amy Kerr founded I Am More as a way of reminding others that she is more than her depression recovery and invited those dealing with their own challenges to share their stories. Each subject is asked to choose a location where they are most comfortable, so locations have included a crowded theater, a cafe, a photographer’s studio, the ocean, a dance studio, a Crossfit gym, and a church. Amy draws in her studio and home in the coastal community of Gloucester, Massachusetts while coaching the subjects on their writing. She received her art education at Mt. Anthony Union High School in Bennington, VT and has a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College.