The Lost And Found: Brittany Knapp’s Latest Immersive Experience

Brittany Knapp’s latest project, The Lost and Found Space, is rooted in her ambition to create a multidimensional space for art, therapy, and collaboration. Reflecting on her previous ventures, she shares “When I started my art therapy practice and the healing arts gallery, I wanted to create a space that combined various avenues–an art therapy center and an art gallery–where people could come together for workshops and therapeutic work through art.” 

Knapp, the owner and founder of Art Therapy Place in Bushwick, which she launched in 2020, is an artist and art therapist, who has helped countless patients, community members, and therapists-in-training. Looking to expand her practice as an extension of her own healing journey, Knapp was inspired by recent travels to a few of this summer’s Burning Man festivals to create an inclusive and holistic space for remedial learning and expression.

In recent years, Knapp’s focus has shifted more toward immersive art installations with restorative elements. “I found myself gravitating towards these therapeutic, interactive art projects I was developing for the gallery and my practice,” she explains. These projects began to inspire her both as an artist and as a healer. She notes, “When my art became therapeutic not just for myself but for others, it took on an experiential quality that resonated with installation artists.” 

 “I found myself gravitating towards these therapeutic, interactive art projects I was developing for the gallery and my practice,” she explains. These projects began to inspire her both as an artist and as a healer.

She expanded on her interest in the project, adding “I had the best time, and some of the greatest physical, mental and emotional challenges, making large-scale artwork with diverse landscapes, and environments, and people. This was one of the peak, integrative, growth periods of my life. I want to create an environment for creation, so others can know and experience that impact and discover its power in their own creative process.”

Adapting to environments was a key learning element for Knapp. “One Nest Project was done in extremely humid 95+ degree weather in direct sunlight.” She noted they would adjust by shifting out of the sun where possible and taking breaks in the shade. “In Sweden there was rain messing with our ability to paint, while in the desert there was dust and lots of wind. A major part of the burn ceremony is ensuring MOOP (Matter Out of Place) so we didn’t want debris that could fly away and pollute the area.”

The transition from her personal 2-D wood blocks to installation art has opened new pathways. “This space gave me the platform to merge installation art with the projects I’ve been working on at Burning Man and also regional burns happening in Sweden,” Knapp reflects. 

The name, The Lost and Found Space, was inspired by Knapp’s experience at a Swedish Burn Festival, where she worked on an interactive AI collaboration for an Alice in Wonderland installation. There, she was introduced to the Lost and Found Camp, which managed lost items during the festival. Captivated by the camp, Knapp became intrigued by the metaphysical concept of being lost and found, which began to shape her creative vision. She further drew inspiration from wandering the streets of Bushwick, where she incorporated discarded items into her work, reflecting the cyclical theme of loss and rediscovery.

“Burns are often both micro and macro experiences,” she explains. “These smaller moments of transformation ripple out and create profound, lasting changes in life.”

One of Knapp’s pivotal projects, The Nest-building Project, explores safety, attachment, resilience and boundaries, with the intersection of art therapy and personal healing. This initiative encourages individuals to create a safe space that engages all five senses, helping them ground themselves, build trust, and develop coping skills through art. The process also invites participants to examine areas in their lives where they may not feel safe.

Knapp explains, “Through research and observation, I realized a lot of what emerged from the Nest-building Project aligned with the Bird’s Nest Assessment in art therapy, which measures attachment styles.” This project helps people reflect on their attachments, what they wish to hold onto, and what they are ready to release. In this context, Knapp’s Nest Project becomes an immersive experience where participants create life-sized bird nests, representing what they are ready to let go of, often through the symbolic act of burning items from their nest.

“Burns are often both micro and macro experiences,” she explains. “These smaller moments of transformation ripple out and create profound, lasting changes in life.”

In addition to the main Burning Man Festival in Nevada, regional burns take place across the globe, all grounded in the same set of principles that foster a secular, spiritual experience centered on letting go. The experiences of Burning Man, and adjacent regional festivals are bound together by the shared principles of community, self-expression, leave-no-trace, and release. For Knapp, each burn offers valuable lessons that resonate throughout the rest of her year. One of Knapp’s friends eventually asked if she would be interested in collaborating on a project together, further extending the influence of these transformative experiences.

Drawing inspiration from her time at the Lost and Found Bar, Knapp envisions creating a space dedicated to open studio art, holistic wellness workshops, and collaborative art projects. “There’s an opportunity to do a ‘paint your feelings’ mural or a collaborative collage,” she says. This experiential space will not only serve as a place for people to create but will be an art experience in itself. Each room will feature different landscapes inspired by the places Knapp encountered in Sweden, Maryland, and at the Burn festivals, reflecting the aesthetics of those transformative events. 

“There’s an opportunity to do a ‘paint your feelings’ mural or a collaborative collage,” she says. This experiential space will not only serve as a place for people to create but will be an art experience in itself.

Knapp’s goal is to recreate the profound experiences she had at festivals for a wider audience. She believes people are seeking spaces like this, where art and therapy intertwine in an immersive, healing environment. “If you just want to walk in and make art, that’s something you can do here.”

Discussing the creative process for developing her space, Knapp says, “I was able to tell the story of my summer, curating based on the real things that were there. Doing art in spaces like this mirrors life. If you can just relax and enjoy creating art, that’s something very powerful.” While she values the personal experience of creation, Knapp also emphasizes the strength of collaborative work. “Working with a team creates a focused flow that enhances the experience for everyone involved.”

The outcome of Knapp’s project is a fantastical, carnival wonderland-themed forest environment where participants can engage in open studio art, art and wellness workshops using an integration of various creative arts forms- art, dance, drama and music, as well as other healing modalities such as sound bath & painting, and interdisciplinary wellness workshops to explore sexuality, spirituality, and play. 

Lost & Found Space will have weekend hours as a Do-It-Yourself Arts, Crafts and Clothing store, where participants can buy supplies to tailor their own creations in an art studio environment. In the space, you can purchase store points and use them to make DIY décor in the nesting room, paint and bedazzle objects, use sewing machines and adornments to upcycle secondhand clothing, make costumes, and more!

Knapp teamed up with a business partner Rana Abdallah for Lost & Found, who has been an Art Therapist and the Clinical Supervisor of Art Therapy Place. Abdallah sees Lost & Found Space as a platform for therapists and wellness practitioners who have lost their own creative spark in the clinical environments they are accustomed to working. Rana shares, “Lost & Found Space provides a creative environment for group and workshop leaders to get inspired after years of working in burn-out settings. So we don’t lose our creative motivation helping others.” Lost & Found Space rents space to local artists and healers to support their interests and help them launch their personal projects.

In addition to her artistic ventures, Knapp is preparing for the release of her book, Crazy Girl, which she describes as a satirical exploration of the “crazy girl” trope in millennial dating culture. “The book is about my own experiences with anxious attachment disorder,” Knapp shares. Through humor and self-reflection, she hopes to help readers become more trauma-informed and develop healthy coping mechanisms. Set to release in the new year, Crazy Girl offers a personal lens into Knapp’s journey while providing insights for others navigating similar challenges.

Knapp’s own experiences have had a transformative effect on both her art and her practice. Implementing these lessons in her own life, she seeks to help others by creating a space for self-reflection, self-expression, and ultimately a place of healing.

Follow Lost & Found Space on IG & Tiktok at @lostandfound_space for upcoming workshops, interactive art groups, and store hours. You can email them at wearelostandfoundspace@gmail.com for questions and interest in workshop collaboration or space rentals!

Written by Sage Helene & T.K. Mills