A Community Conversation on the historic murals at Kings Park Psychiatric Center heads to St. James

Preservation Long Island invites the community to a Community Conversation on the historic murals at Kings Park Psychiatric Center at the Mills Pond Gallery, 176 Mills Pond Road, St. James on Tuesday, Oct. 8 from 7 to 8 p.m.  

This discussion will revolve around a mural from King’s Park Psychiatric Center (KPPC) Building 93, attributed to author and cartoonist Percy Lee Crosby, who lived at KPPC from 1949 until his death in 1964 and how the mural interprets the experience of being a resident at KPPC, art as a form of therapy, and the mural as a historic artifact.

The event will take place at the Mills Pond House which a Greek Revival home built for William Wickham Mills in 1838–40. It is a rare surviving example of the small agricultural communities that once thrived on Long Island. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house now serves as the Smithtown Township Arts Council’s Mills Pond Gallery, which offers a space for creative expression and the exploration of contemporary art. Be sure to visit the gallery’s current art exhibition Our Relationship with the Land open one hour before the Community Conversation.

This event is  free and open to all —community members, students, educators, activists, and anyone interested in how these artworks capture human experiences and reflect the community of KPPC. 

To reserve your space, visit www.millspondgallery.org/events For more information, call 631-862-6575.