MIDLAND’S DOW LIBRARYTO HOST MDA ART EXHIBIT

TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 16, 2002 — Selected works of art from the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Art Collection will be featured in an exhibit at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library in Midland, Mich., Oct. 1-31. The Collection features artwork by people from across the country with neuromuscular diseases.

Some 16 pieces will be on display, all created by Michigan residents. Like the rest of the MDA Collection, the Michigan pieces offer an eclectic mix of artists and media.

“Old Barn” is an oil painting by the late Dan Beacome of Alma. Beacome, who lost his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, often known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) in February, was one of the first artists to donate to the Collection.

“Old Barn” was painted with such loving detail that one can see the wood grain and knot holes in the barn’s walls, and feel the wind blowing gently through the surrounding tufts of grass. Remarkably, Beacome had lost the use of his hands to his disease long before he learned to paint, and created “Old Barn” by holding the paintbrush between his teeth.

Jack MacColeman of Troy is an award-winning artist whose paintings reflect his love of animals and Michigan’s great outdoors. He’s one of the most prolific artists in the MDA Collection with five pieces appearing in this exhibit. MacColeman, who has a metabolic myopathy known as McArdle’s disease, uses a variety of media to create his artwork, some of which has also appeared as part of MDA’s Holiday Wishes Card Collection.

Five of the pieces that will be on display were created by young Michigan artists at a May 1993 MDA youth art workshop hosted by the Detroit Institute of Art and supervised by local professional artists. One artist, Dustin Borlack of Commerce Township, was only 3 years old at the time, making him one of the youngest artists to be featured in the MDA Collection. He has central core disease.

The Grace A. Dow Memorial Library was established in 1899 as a subscription library with 25 charter members. It’s named after the late wife of Herbert H. Dow, founder of the Dow Chemical Co.

The library is located at 1710 W. St. Andrews, and is open 9 a.m. through 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

“We’re honored to have a portion of our Collection on display at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. “The art created by these brilliant and talented people is a source of inspiration to all of us at MDA, and we’re grateful to have the opportunity to share these beautiful works with the good people of the Midland area.”

The exhibit is scheduled to appear on the second floor Mezzanine Gallery. For more information about the library, call (989) 837-3430, or visit www.midland-mi.org/gracedowlibrary.

The MDA Art Collection’s permanent home is at MDA’s national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz. Samples of the Collection can be seen on the Internet at www.mda.org/commprog/art. The Collection was established in 1992 to focus attention on the achievements of artists with disabilities, and to emphasize that physical disability is no barrier to creativity. The permanent Collection comprises some 300 works by artists aged 2 to 82, and represents all 50 states. Each artist is affected by one of the neuromuscular diseases in the MDA program.

Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art; Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center and Forbes Magazine Galleries in New York; Tucson Museum of Art; Bishop Museum in Honolulu; Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art; Los Angeles Children’s Museum; JFK Center at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; Fresno Metropolitan Museum; Duluth Art Institute; Capital Children’s Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains a clinic for area adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases at the Midland Hospital Association’s Department of Neurology.

MDA’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.