.ART Founders Pledge $1 Million Fellowship Support to GW Art Therapy Graduate Program

Donation is part of the Domain Registry's Ongoing ART THERAPY INITIATIVE to Raise Awareness of the Healing Effects of Art

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Support and promotion of art therapy globally is the top corporate philanthropic initiative for .ART, the digital creative community hub and domain registry Ulvi Kasimov founded with his wife, Reykhan. Launching their initiative with a $1 million endowment for graduate fellowships for students in the George Washington University's Art Therapy Program, they recognized the critical need for financial support to attract and retain top students with a passion to serve.

.ART launched its Art Therapy Initiative in January to expand the company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. By supporting this scholarship, .ART hopes to support deserving students to complete the graduate program and provide art therapy services of quality to a broader community, especially in these particularly stressful times.

"The pandemic negatively impacted everyone, whether they realize it or not," .ART founder Ulvi Kasimov said. "And there are not enough psychiatrists and psychologists in the world to address a problem of this magnitude." Now, more than ever, the world needs access to the therapeutic benefits of art.

"The scholarship and continued support for art therapy students are so essential for our students. So often students are drawn to this field because they want to assist people in healing; however, they are overwhelmed by financial struggles," said Heidi Bardot, director of the Art Therapy Program at GW. "This scholarship will help to diversify the art therapy field and will take some of the financial stress away, supporting both students and future clients."

The Art Therapy Program, which is part of GW's Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, is one of the first of its kind in the United States. Students explore all aspects of art therapy, trauma training and diagnosis, and complete 900 internship hours with direct client contact in the on-campus clinic.

Beyond the scholarship, .ART plans to deepen its collaboration with the Art Therapy Program at GW and leverage support from its global creative community, to create virtual programs and fundraising events to raise awareness of art therapy and the healing effects of art.

"On numerous occasions art has been a way for me to preemptively process difficult things in life. I believe art can be a tremendous way to navigate all kinds of complexities," said multimedia artist Phil Hansen, a partner of the Art Therapy Initiative. "Art Therapy and 'art as therapy' are practical tools that should not be overlooked in this critical time," he said.

About .ART
.ART is the internet domain for the world's art and creative community. Launched under an exclusive agreement between UK Creative Ideas Ltd and ICANN in 2016, .ART is one of the fastest-growing top-level domains for creatives, with more than 230,000 domains registered to date. In 2019, .ART launched "Digital Twin" to securely archive art and cultural object metadata. .ART's global team across London, Beijing, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. shares the mission to bring technology and art together, creating a digital infrastructure for the international creative community. For more information, visit www.art.art.

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SOURCE .ART Group