MFA graduate Kenyari Gil Rosario uses participatory art and community partnerships to spark conversations around neurodivergence and mental health.
For artist Kenyari Gil Rosario, the most impactful work happens when art extends into the community.
Growing up in Central Florida, she was encouraged by her parents to explore her creativity. Her early years were spent developing her artistic skills in weekend classes at Crealdé School of Art, which eventually led her to pursue a degree in Illustration at Ringling College of Art and Design. Creativity was always present, but it wasn’t until she began her Master of Fine Arts in the Studio Art and Design track at UCF’s School of Visual Arts and Design (SVAD) where her work began to reflect something more personal.
Gil Rosario’s research began as a way to understand her own mental health. While navigating experiences she didn’t yet have the resources to fully process, she turned inward, using art to express these complex feelings. Over time, that personal inquiry grew into a focus on raising awareness about neurodivergence.
“I was repeatedly surprised when visiting artists, faculty, and even local therapists encountered my work and asked, ‘What is neurodivergence?’” Gil Rosario says. “I recognized how necessary this project could be in making complex topics accessible and engaging for a wider audience. It became clear that the work was needed beyond my own healing.”
That realization led to the development of her Emotional Support Friends series, a participatory mural project designed to foster conversations around mental health.
“A pivotal turning point came through my partnership with KPMG Lakehouse, where they funded reproductions of my Emotional Support Friends series for a mural that was later donated to the Veterans Affairs hospital in Lake Nona,” she says. “That project became personal for me as my father, a disabled veteran, frequents that hospital.”
After the installation, KPMG Lakehouse gifted Gil Rosario the remaining panels from the project, which she used to expand the work beyond its original scope. This led her to connect with Providing Autism Links and Support (PALS), a nonprofit founded by parents connected to UCF Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UCF-CARD) that provides social, educational, and community-based programs for individuals with autism and their families.
Together, they created a mural that invited community members to contribute their own piece while supporting neurodiversity awareness and PALS.
In the end, more than 300 individuals participated in the mural, helping the project reach its initial fundraising goal of $500 for PALS. For Gil Rosario, the result reinforced the importance of creating accessible ways to foster social impact through art.
“I felt a soft joy realizing my work would help fund future events for neurodivergent communities,” says Gil Rosario. “It feels like the work has an active purpose, and that sense of purpose had been the key to breaking through my creative block.”
Throughout her journey in SVAD’s MFA program, Gil Rosario found opportunities that helped her grow both creatively and academically. Presenting her research through initiatives like the Student Scholar Symposium and Three-Minute Thesis competition, along with mentorship experiences through the Knight Research Scholars Program, pushed her to communicate her ideas with greater confidence and better understand how her work could extend beyond the studio.
Now, as she prepares to graduate, Gil Rosario plans to continue her community-centered practice through workshops that teach participants how to create their own Emotional Support Friends while introducing mental health resources, techniques and local support systems. She is also applying for grants to offer the workshops free of charge to youth, adults, and elders throughout Central Florida, while continuing to support neurodivergent communities through future fundraising efforts and partnerships.
“I’ve found that my motivation lives in helping others, and I’m grateful to have found a way to do that through art,” she says. “The connections, partnerships and friendships I made at SVAD and UCF have made me believe in myself and my abilities. I’m ready to Charge On!”
