Mosaic Art as Therapy (Galeria Alegria of New Orleans)

Walking to New Orleans
84''x36''
Made with approximately 75,000 beads

Events and Fun at the Galeria Alegria

These panels were ruined during the Katrina disaster. 
Look at how they have been transformed using bead art!

This mosaic with over 250,000 beads was created to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina

Stephán Wanger of Galeria Alegria is a remarkable self-taught artist who has constructed his very own artistic language enriched with a mission. He is the man behind some spectacular mosaics made with Mardi Gras beads that serve a purpose. To revive New Orleans after the disaster, bringing back hope, while nurturing creativity, promoting recycling and teaching art to younger generations.

Browsing though his website, some of the images were striking and really reverberated that musicality and rhythm of what we know New Orleans to be. 

What is absolutely worthy of note here is how bead art is so close to mosaic art and how art is always the best therapy to overcome disasters not just on a global level but also on a personal. If a mosaic artwork manages to reach out people and raise money to help those in need after what happened to New Orleans you can imagine how people who need emotional support can find relief when juxtaposing scattered pieces to construct a WHOLE NEW IMAGE. 

Since the therapy of art is in the process, mosaic, due to its painstaking and challenging creative phases, is certainly the par-excellence artistic method to explore your feelings, accept them and MOVE ON by creating something new, focusing on something else that YOU start from scratch. I never believed that problems can be solved if we dwell on them too much and keep on insisting to find the solution while inside the problem.

Mosaic art is beyond any doubt the ART for people who don't mind starting over. It's in fact that tabula rasa factor to begin with that intrigues the artist to get involved with mosaic.

The Fleur de Lis is a symbol of Louisiana

The Brown Pelican is considered to be the State Bird of Louisiana since 1966

Teaching mosaic bead work at an elementary school with the help of Stephán Wanger

Images from Galeria Alegria