We were lucky to catch up with Alia Boynton recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
I hope to be remembered for changing the landscape of what healthcare looks like. With The People’s Gallery Project and my work with private clients, I focus on providing preventative health supports to individuals and to the community through creative, social, and physical outlets. My goal is to create a world in which preventative health services are readily available to all, and where mental and emotional health is valued as highly as physical health. I believe that participation in meaningful social and therapeutic activities allows individuals and communities to improve overall health and to reduce the need for medical interventions. I want to be remembered for creating spaces where people can feel at home, where people feel seen and heard, and where people can access a wide range of preventative health services tailored to their unique needs regardless of personal backgrounds.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I have worked in the wellness industry for 10 years leading groups and working with private clients in the worlds of yoga, fitness, and mental health. I moved to Philadelphia from my home state of California to complete my Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Thomas Jefferson University. After graduating and getting my Occupational Therapy license, I opened a non-profit organization called The People’s Gallery Project (PGP) with the mission to support creative entrepreneurs through community events and therapeutic services. Founded through the lens of Occupational Therapy, a primary value of PGP is that all individuals should have the opportunity to work and sustain themselves through fulfilling entrepreneurial ventures. We believe that active participation in creative projects and healthy social activities are essential for supporting both individual and community health.
In September 2024, I opened up a flagship arts & wellness center in Washington Square West as a fundamental third space for people from all walks of life to gather and be inspired. Within this space, we host a wide range of workshops and showcases related to of arts and wellness led by local creatives and educators. All artwork displayed is for sale and 100% of the profits of anything sold goes directly to the artists in an effort to minimize the barriers that artists face in reaching professional and financial independence.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Through this process of starting The People’s Gallery Project, I’ve had to unlearn the idea that it’s helpful to only give (time, money, and energy) and selfish to receive. In the early days of working with clients, I made myself as available and flexible as could be and accommodated all requests. When I first started The People’s Gallery Project- I took a similar approach in working with artists and made sure I was available and gave all I had to making the initial steps of the project work. In both cases, I overextended myself beyond my capacity. What I also found is that people benefit from having clear boundaries. I also learned that the only way to keep growing and building was to
Have you ever had to pivot?
I am currently in the midst of one of the biggest pivots in both my career and my personal life. When I opened up a physical space in September, everything had to pivot. I found that some of the original goals of The People’s Gallery Project didn’t apply anymore, or didn’t work as expected, and I had to make a lot of changes with our operations and what we were moving towards. Luckily, we have had such an overwhelmingly positive response from the community since being in our new location. This allowed the organization to flow in new directions very naturally. In an even bigger turn of events, I found out just several weeks after opening that I was pregnant with our first! I am now preparing to take several months off over the Summer and setting up all operations to run smoothly without me being there-which is quite a challenge as an independent business owner. I’m very lucky to have an incredible husband who has been supportive in all ways as I navigate these changes, and to have collaborators working to support PGP to continue growing as I step back. Change can be an amazing thing, if you allow it to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.peoplesgalleryproject.com
- Instagram: @peoplesgalleryproject
Image Credits
Photos by Khalid Kura @khalidkura