Monthaven Art and Cultural Center

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center
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Five Questions for Cheryl Strichik About the MACC’s Boots & BBQ Fundraiser for the Healing Arts

You’ll have a hard time finding a more innovative and entertaining fundraiser. Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center’s Boots & BBQ Fundraiser takes place this Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Bagsby Ranch, 1628 Long Hollow Pike, Gallatin. The Bryson McCarley Good Neighbor Foundation will provide the delicious BBQ. There will also be an open bar and a vibrant art auction. Grammy Award-winning country artist John Berry will provide the entertainment.

As always, proceeds from the Boots & BBQ fundraiser support the MACC’s Between the Lines healing arts program for military veterans and their families. Working with its community partners, the MACC’s groundbreaking program brought hope and healing to thousands of participants suffering from trauma in 2024. Since the program is so unusual, we decided to ask MACC Executive Director Cheryl Strichik a few questions about it.

Tell us about the MACC’s Between the Line healing arts program. What’s it about?

Cheryl Strichik (CS): Between the Lines is an outreach program designed to work with military veterans who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The program is free to veterans. Our healing arts facilitators work with them to find creative ways to overcome depressive and anxious feelings. I can’t tell you how important that is for these American heroes. Some of these veterans were so anxious they couldn’t even leave their homes and walk outside. The healing arts encourages them to reflect and process their complicated emotions.

What’s new about this year’s Boots & BBQ FR?

CS: For starters, we’ll be holding our Boots & BBQ fundraiser for the first time ever at Bagsby Ranch, located off Long Hollow Pike in Gallatin. It’s a beautiful facility, and the folks there were generous enough to donate the space to us because they believe in our mission of helping military veterans. In addition, for the first time, attendees will get to participate in a few healing arts exercises. We felt that having an interactive event would be eye-opening. We’re not just telling people the healing arts are important. We’re showing them exactly how the healing arts promotes self-awareness and emotional expression.

What are healing arts exercises like? Can you give us an example?

CS: Healing arts exercises are a little bit different from what you might find in a typical art classroom. Art teachers provide students with the skills and techniques they need to express their creative ideas. Often, the result is something beautiful, like a colorful portrait, landscape or still life. Healing arts facilitators are less focused on the creation of beautiful objects. They want their participants to understand the raw emotions that are making them anxious. Through understanding, participants find new ways to cope and rebuild their lives. One exercise our healing arts facilitators use is the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Participants will smash some pottery, like a bowl or a cup, and then repair it. The exercise is akin to rebuilding one’s life.

Who are some of the MACC’s healing arts partners?

CS: Our community partners are amazing. Without question, we couldn’t do our Between the Lines healing arts program without them. We do a lot of work with the American Legion Post 17 Veterans Residence in Gallatin. In fact, we built a healing arts studio for the 38 or so military veterans who live at the residence, and our healing arts facilitators work with them weekly. We also have a longstanding relationship with the MTSU Charlies and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Family Center, where we present several art exhibitions every year. The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project is a huge supporter of everything the MACC does for veterans. We also work with the Veterans Recovery Center in Murfreesboro, the VFW Post 9851 in Hendersonville, and the American Legion Post 45 in Greenbrier. Our Seventh Annual Veterans Art Exhibition artist Don Olea is currently creating a fantastic mural at the Greenbrier post.

If someone wants to support the MACC’s healing arts program, what should they do?

CS: They can start by calling me directly at (615) 822-0789. They can also go to our website at monthavenarts.org and click on the “Veterans” tab. They’ll find lots of information there about our programming along with a “donate” button where they can give. There are lots of ways to support the healing arts for military veterans. I also encourage people to contact us about participating in our projects. That’s perhaps the best way to see how the healing arts change people’s lives for the better.

Robin Willis

HEALING ARTS COORDINATOR

Robin Willis is the MACC’s Healing Arts Coordinator. She also works as the Exhibition and Events Manager and Director of Outreach. Robin has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Clemson University with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She is a multi-discipline artist with emphasis in writing, mixed media abstract painting, alternative process photography, collage, and book arts and binding. In addition to her art practices, she holds several healing modalities certificates, such as extensive kundalini yoga teacher training and education, Reiki master, systemic family constellation facilitator, and depth psychology-based therapy trainings. As an avid learner, she explores and encourages others in their exploration in art, psyche, and our relationship to the micro and macro worlds within and around us. Influenced by John Muir’s quote, When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe, she fuses art, healing, and organization throughout her work and personal life as a creative-scientist minded person.

Kaylin Warden

Creative Design and Operations Manager

Kaylin Warden serves as the MACC’s Creative Design and Operations Manager. In this post, she oversees the organization’s graphic design work for exhibitions, events and special projects. She also coordinates the MACC’s arts outreach activities and assists with bookkeeping, among other duties. Kaylin, above all, is passionate about the arts. It comes as no surprise, then, that she is now pursuing a master’s degree in art history. When she’s not at the MACC, you can find her reading her favorite books (especially ones dealing with maritime mysteries), cooking, gardening, playing with her cat and two dogs, and cheering for the Nashville Predators.

Ruth Chase

Regional Arts Director
Ruth Chase is the Regional Arts Director of Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center, joining the team in 2023. For Ruth, the job is all about community, bringing people together to uplift and educate artists and art lovers alike. Her role at Monthaven is to strengthen the local artist community and build connections that will enrich Hendersonville and our surrounding communities through art exhibitions, art education, and opportunities for regional artists.
 
Prior to joining Monthaven, Ruth worked in the arts for over 30 years and is a multimedia artist and graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute. Her artistic practice is inquiry-based and engages in community bridge-building. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles, curated and juried exhibitions, and has taught at the Crocker Art Museum.
 
Ruth was awarded an Artist-in-Residence for Artist Activating Communities through a grant from the California Arts Council for three consecutive years. Her film Belonging screened at both the 18th Annual Nevada City Film Festival and Wild & Scenic Film Festival. She has received the Legendary Female Artist of Venice award, and she has exhibited in The Crocker Kingsley, the Museum of Northern California Art, and the Diego Rivera Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute. Ruth also continues her work as a Curatorial Consultant and Art director for the Californian Indigenous Research Project, where she has worked with the local tribe since 2018. 
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