Fountain House Gallery, the premier New York City venue representing artists living with mental illness, has partnered with The Schoolhouse Hotel, a new boutique hotel in downtown White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, to provide one-of-a-kind art that reflects the hotel’s mission of being an inclusive, community-focused leader in the hospitality industry.
The Schoolhouse Hotel is the world’s first fully accessible hotel that complies with all regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It has selected 15 works by Fountain House Gallery artists to feature in its guest rooms, recognizing the role companies can play to destigmatize mental illness and create business opportunities for people with disabilities. The Schoolhouse Hotels’ mission and values are a powerful example of how business leaders can make a social impact at every level of their operations, said Rachel Weisman, Director of Fountain House Gallery.
We’re honoured to have Fountain House Gallery artists so prominently featured throughout their establishment and recognized for their tremendous talent. We hope other hotels, and other industries in general, will follow The Schoolhouse Hotels’ example and begin to think more comprehensively about how to serve people with disabilities, including mental illness while celebrating their triumphs and contributions.
Owned and operated by The Disability Opportunity Fund, The Schoolhouse Hotels’ 30 guest rooms and public spaces including its ballroom and rooftop lounge as well as its booking process have been designed to be completely accessible with input from people with lived experience. The bathtubs, for example, use hydronic body lifts, the lighting fixtures were chosen to maximize visual aid, and the floor where the bartenders stand is purposefully lowered so they can be eye-level with people sitting at the bar regardless of whether they are in a stool or wheelchair.
The Schoolhouse Hotel hopes to normalize these types of inclusive practices across the industry, ensuring that the needs of all guests are met at the highest standards of care and treated as a priority, not just a matter of compliance. We welcome our partnership with Fountain House to showcase original art created by those living with mental illness. This collaboration illustrates to the world that those living with disabilities can and do thrive, and should be acknowledged and celebrated, says Charlie Hammerman, President and CEO of the Disability Opportunity Fund.
This beautiful artwork complements and augments our mission of inclusivity and investment in underserved communities. The extraordinary Fountain House works seamlessly to contribute an innovative level of artistry to The Schoolhouse Hotels’ aesthetic of calm, welcoming spaces. Fountain House Gallery artists that are being showcased at The Schoolhouse Hotel include Alyson Vega, a Puerto Rican fiber artist who taught herself to sew and quilt at a young age. After the effects of surgery for a benign brain tumour ended her 22-year teaching career, Alyson experienced a burst of creativity that brought her artistic ability to the fore.
To learn more about Fountain House Gallery and its growing community of artists, visit FountainHouseGallery.org. To book your next stay at The Schoolhouse, visit TheSchoolhouseHotelWV.com.
Written by: Matthew Thomas from New York
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