For Immediate Release January 9, 2013

Contact: Leah Ammon, (408) 961-5814 lammon@montalvoarts.org

Exhibition Opens January 25: Happiness Is

Artists examine emotional health and wellbeing through an aesthetic lens

ABOVE: Christine Wong Yap, take charge of your happiness, 2011, 83 x 24 x 1, ribbon, thread, pins. Photo courtesy of the artist.

SARATOGA, Calif. On Friday, January 25, Montalvo Arts Center will inaugurate its new 20-month-long programming theme Flourish: Artists Explore Wellbeing with an exhibition entitled Happiness Is which will run through April 14. Installed in the Project Space Gallery and also making use of Montalvos 175acre grounds, the show is organized by the Lucas Artists Residency Program (LAP). Participating artists Susan OMalley, Leah Rosenberg, and Christine Wong Yap address an age-old question: How do we foster happiness and build a contented life?

Each artist drew from a variety of influences and disciplinesincluding scientific research, visual experimentation, and grand gestureto attempt her individual response. Taken together, O'Malley, Rosenberg, and Wong Yap examine the role of aesthetic pleasure in inspiring positive emotion. In particular, through the events and engagements they have planned for the public, they emphasize the importance of community, ritual, and active participation in cultivating happiness.
MORE

In the Project Space Gallery, Wong Yap will showcase a series of messages sewn from ribbons and installed directly on the gallery wall, each encouraging positive mental habits. Also on view will be her large-scale, hand-drawn diagrams mapping the interconnections between theories of subjective wellbeing. Wong Yaps work will also be on view outside with an installation of her work Irrational Exuberance Flags. This rotating series of colorful flags represents the energetic spirit of enthusiastic optimism.

For the exhibition, Rosenberg will specifically address how color, light, and material impact our sense of contentment. Inspired by the use of light as a therapy for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), she invites gallery visitors to stand in front of her Illuminated Stripe Worksa series of small striped light boxesand alleviate negative emotion. Her work outdoors will include the installation of colorful design elements, including two striped benches, which are integral to the participatory A Healing Walk, on which she collaborated with OMalley.

OMalley has created A Space (for you), an area in the gallery where visitors may experiment with various happiness-inducing activities, including talking and listening to one another, and allowing time for relaxation and reflection. To facilitate this, the area will be decorated with chairs, rugs, and pillows with positive messages. Outdoors, OMalley has created A Healing Walk, a guided path marked at various points with signage featuring positive and happiness-affirming directives. HAPPINESS IS ENGAGEMENT A number of additional events and programs have been planned in connection with the exhibition:

Friday, January 25 OPENING RECEPTION, 7-9:30pm Project Space Gallery, Free admission Be one of the first to view the new exhibition, and enjoy two exhibition-specific happenings with the artists. At 7:30pm, take a 15-minute silent walk through Montalvos grounds, led by Susan OMalley. At 8pm, return to the gallery and participate in a ritual of sharing, pleasure, and community, by sampling site-specific cookies baked by Leah Rosenberg. Saturday, January 26 IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE FLAGS, 1pm Lot One, Lucas Artists Residency, Free admission Join Christine Wong Yap in the raising of her Irrational Exuberance Flags.
HAPPINESS IS SMILING, 1:30pm Phelan Library, Historic Villa, Free Admission Audience members are invited to smile at each other for one minute, led by Susan OMalley.
Page 2 of 4

HAPPINESS IS, A CONVERSATION, 1:35pm Phelan Library, Historic Villa, Free Admission Join all three of the Happiness Is artists and Carole Pertofsky, Director of Wellness and Health Promotion Services at Vaden Health Center, Stanford University, for a conversation about the pursuit of happiness.

Wednesday, March 20 HAPPINESS TAKES SHAPE, 7pm Phelan Library, Historic Villa, Free Admission Celebrate the first International Day of Happiness with an evening of reading and performance led by poet Genine Lentine and cellist/vocalist Theresa Wong. Saturday, March 23 HAPPINESS IS WALKING, 11:30am-12:30pm Project Space Gallery, Free Admission Explore Montalvos grounds during a guided walk led by artists Susan OMalley and Leah Rosenberg.
THE SOUND OF HAPPINESS, 1-3pm Phelan Library, Historic Villa, General: $25; Members: $20; Students: $15 Cellist/vocalist Theresa Wong and poet Genine Lentine offer an afternoon of vocal and writing exercises exploring the relationship of voice, language, and happiness. Wong will guide participants in vocal improvisations that demonstrate how chance gives rise to creative freedom. In a series of writing exercises and readings, Lentine will invite participants to explore how uncertainty can be an exhilarating source of inspiration when writing poems. This workshop is suitable for all levels of experience and is open to all ages, including children.

Saturday, April 13 HEALING IS TALKING, HEALING IS LISTENING, 1-3pm Project Space Gallery, Free Admission Sign up for an appointment to listen and talk with artist Susan O'Malley by emailing lbaines@montalvoarts.org. Slots available include: 1-1:15pm, 1:20-1:35pm, 1:40-1:55pm, 2:00-2:15pm, 2:20-2:35pm, and 2:40-2:55pm.
HAPPINESS IS A PHOTO CONTEST The public is invited to contribute to the conversation about happiness by submitting a photograph that best conveys what makes you happy, along with a "Happiness is" caption (e.g Happiness isa risk - Sarah Addison Allen). Submissions should be sent via Twitter or Instagram, tagged @montalvoarts, with #Happiness, or email to lbaines@montalvoarts.org. Select entries will be posted on the Montalvo website and social media channels, and the winnerwho will be selected by the artists on March 20, International Happiness Daywill win a signed, limited-edition inspirational poster by artist Susan OMalley (value of $50, shown left).
Page 3 of 4

FLOURISH: ARTISTS EXPLORE WELLBEING For centuries, philosophers have applied themselves to the task of defining wellbeing, and asked how we might best live meaningful, happy, and healthy lives. For Aristotle, individuals could only achieve eudaimonia, or a state of flourishing, when they lived lives of virtuous activity, fulfilling our deeply human capacities. Today, this focus on wellbeing appears to be part of a global trend. In 2011 the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development, urging member states to recognize that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental goal in the lives of all human beings. The late 20th and early 21st centuries have witnessed an explosion of interest in the topic as TV personalities, spiritual leaders, health professionals, psychologists, sociologists, business people, environmentalists, politicians, writers and artists have all sought to redefine our understanding of a life well lived and answer the question: how can we live meaningful, happy and healthy lives? How can we flourish?

Seeking to contribute to the ongoing international conversation about wellness, Montalvo embarks on Flourish: Artists Explore Wellbeing its new 20-month-long programming theme. Flourish will not only cast light on the question of happiness and health, it will also bring to the community a series of exhibitions, conversations, performances, workshops and screenings, promoting creativity and communal engagement. All programs will be mounted in collaboration with artists from the Lucas Artists Residency Program and Montalvos Education Department. To download more information about Flourish, please click here.

HAPPINESS IS What: Art exhibition of new and recent work by Susan OMalley, Leah Rosenberg, and Christine Wong Yap. When: On view January 25 through April 14, 2013. Gallery open Thursday through Sunday, 11am to 3pm. Where: Project Space Gallery at Montalvo Arts Center, 15400 Montalvo Road, Saratoga, CA Admission: Free to the public.

###
Montalvo Arts Center is an oasis of culture and nature whose mission is to create and present arts of all types, nurture artists, and use our historic Villa, buildings, and grounds in innovative ways that engage people in the creative process. Located in Silicon Valley's Saratoga hills, Montalvo occupies a Mediterranean-style Villa, built in 1912 by Senator James Duval Phelan, surrounded by 175 stunning acres, including the campus of our international Lucas Artists Residency Program. Senator Phelan bequeathed the villa and grounds to the people of California for the encouragement of art, music, literature and architecture, a mandate that Montalvo has carried forward ever since its founding. For more information, call (408) 961-5800 or visit www.montalvoarts.org.
Page 4 of 4