A Celebration of Dangerous Gifts: Navigating the Space Between Brilliance and Madness

On October 24th, 2005 more than 75 people gathered at NYU for the first Living Room Sacred Slam organized by the Icarus Project together with a number of cosponsors including Misled Youth Network, NYUinc., Visual Resistance, Rita Project, Verrazano Foundation and the Freedom Center. Special thanks to Akim Funk Buddha, Bonfire Madigan, Barbara Lee, and Sascha Altman co-director of the Icarus Project for their words and performances.

The Icarus Project is a community based mental health support organization created by and for people struggling with bipolar disorder and other dangerous gifts that are commonly labeled as diseases. We are creating a new culture and language that resonates with our actual experiences of “mental illness” rather than trying to fit our lives into a conventional framework. We are helping to organize a support network in the NYU community.

Around twenty people stuck around after the event for an inspiring discussion about personal coping strategies for living in such a crazy world. The group also visioned what healthy communities at NYU might look like. This event helped to launch a weekly NYU student support group meeting every Thursday at 5:30pm in Kimmel Room 909.