Today we’d like to introduce you to April Fitzpatrick.
Hi April; thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I began painting about 9 years ago after losing a close relative. What started as a healing practice for myself fueled my interest in art therapy. Over the years, I began exhibiting work, participating in charity fundraisers, selling work, and hosting workshops. Simultaneously, I returned to school and obtained a master’s in art therapy while working within various settings to sharpen my skill and expertise in the field. After a few years, I took an idea. I made it a reality by launching Pineapples with Purpose Art Therapy and Consulting, a mobile art therapy practice that partners with organizations and institutions to provide art therapy experiences with minoritized communities. Consistency and faith placed me where I am today and kept me going.
I have always created and cherished many memories in and out of the classroom that fueled such creativity. However, it was yet another unexpected encounter with the death of a family member that forced me to reckon with unresolved grief, loss, and trauma. After several difficult nights, I heard a voice say paint, and I found the courage to buy a few art supplies with no clear direction, just belief, prayer, and hope. In those moments of painting, I had no real intent; I yearned for peace. However, my subconscious desires were processing layers of unhealthy perspectives, habits, and decisions that were extensions of my limited mental health practices, environmental stressors, generational trauma, and fear. There was work to be done, but that day, I decided to become an artist and art therapist to continue bettering myself and supporting others who may be struggling with life challenges and transitions. That was nine years ago, and I thank God for allowing me to use art to choose differently.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a board-certified art therapist and mixed-media visual artist. My current work calls into question my role as a visual artist and art therapist within Black communal spaces; I create large-scale pieces based on the visual influences of both my personal and professional experiences. Combining contemporary abstraction with experimental narrative, I capture the layered realities of Blackness, racial trauma, and oppression alongside the history and evolution of Black life in America. I sit with reports from various eras and analyze the long-lasting effects based on what we now know regarding trauma, the brain, and social determinants of health.
I am known for the pineapple, which set me apart as an artist and health practitioner. My purpose is to help individuals uncover, assess, and externalize challenges affecting their overall well-being. And call for the decolonization of mental health practices within Black communities. I use the pineapple as a symbolic metaphor to invite people into complex conversations while providing them with a purposeful outlet like the pineapple. More importantly, I infused the fruit’s history as a part of my work, illuminating its complex realities, social meaning, and position as a global commodity that fueled colonialism and the movement of millions of African and Indigenous people.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Laughter! Any memory with an extensive amount of laughter is a favorite of mine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pineappleswithpurpose.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pineappleswithpurpose/
