Lisa Black-Cohen, for over a decade, has been actively involved in special needs issues which led her to found The SEL ( Social Emotional Learning) Art Project. Why Special Needs and Art you may wonder? Black-Cohen is currently pursuing her thesis at the prestigious Sotheby's Institute of Art. As a current teacher in a blended educational environment, she has exposed her students to the art world with remarkable results in nurturing their social skills, which supports Casel's five core behaviors for emotional intelligence: Self-awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills and Responsible Decision Making.
Artist involved in this pilot project include, Derrick Adams, whose practice celebrates black life and culture; Claes Oldenburg, whose public art installations, and soft sculptures, features replicas of everyday objects; and Roy Lichtenstein whose influence was rooted in popular advertising and comic book genre.