Sarah White, The Naked Therapist, Announces Her Own Open Studio, May 13, 2012, in Protest of Alleged Blacklisting from West Chelsea Artists Open Studios

NEW YORK, May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The art world, long the object of censorship, is now censoring artists, claims Sarah White, The Naked Therapist. In what she calls a clear case of anti-woman, anti-naked, and anti-artist prejudice, West Chelsea Artists Open Studios (WCAOS), perhaps one of the world's most important open studio events, initially accepted Sarah White as a photographer/performance artist on April 19, but then "blacklisted" her on May 1. The alleged censoring came when Ms. White tried to identify herself as The Naked Therapist and submitted a feature image. She was then removed from the event via email because she was a "commercial entity" and "not an artist" and the image was an "ad," not "art." The censored image, and her response, can be found at sarahwhiteart.com.

To protest the blacklisting, Ms. White will hold her own Independent Open Studio at The Hotel Americano in Chelsea from 4-8pm on May 13, 2012 (the last day of the WCAOS) to show her work and let the public decide if it's art and to take part in an open dialogue on censorship, commercialism vs. art, and the professional segregation of women who utilize the performative body to engage arousal.

According to Ms. White, "I have been creating photographic art about sexuality, Americana, and the forbidden for over a decade. For the last two years I've been making art influenced by my Naked Therapy practice, and I've recently begun investigating performance art therapy. So I'm an artist and I'm The Naked Therapist. But when I tried to identify myself as such, the Open Studios became not so 'open,' and I was censored and banned. Apparently if a woman uses her body in any way other than what the art world considers 'acceptable' she is ostracized. Given my established artistic portfolio, I find it insulting and quite troubling that an event that is 'open to all West Chelsea artists' feels it has the right to say that I am not an artist."

This is not the first time Ms. White has been hypocritically exiled from assumed bastions of American freedom, she says. According to White, Facebook deleted her profile and fan page (which contained no nudity) without explanation, yet Playboy has a Facebook page that links to naked images. She's been told by various psychology professionals that she cannot be admitted to a master's program or obtain licensing because her methods potentially breach the American Counseling Association's Code of Ethics (even though Naked Therapy involves no sexual contact). And, White Says, HuffPost has said it won't publish her articles until she has a graduate degree, yet publishes others without that qualification.

Despite this, many professionals have shown support. For example, in March 2012 she headlined a SXSW panel hosted by Dr. John Grohol (PsychCentral.com) called "Online Therapy ... Naked?" And this recent censorship has only emboldened Ms. White: "I practice Naked Therapy to help my clients and to investigate arousal in the therapeutic context. I make art to express my creative voice. And I'll continue to do these things, accepted or not, because I think they're vital to freedom and wellness in our world."

Contact:

Sarah White
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 917-725-5223

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SOURCE Sarah White, The Naked Therapist