FIRE FIGHTER TRIBUTE BY UTAH ART STUDENT
ACCEPTED BY MDA ART COLLECTION

TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 16, 2003 — A tribute to the nation's fire fighters, painted in watercolor by Elsha Stockseth of South Weber, Utah, has been accepted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Art Collection. Now in its 12th year, the Collection features artwork by people from across the country with neuromuscular diseases.

"The Unforgettable Fire" represents Stockseth's tribute to the bravery of fire fighters, and was inspired by the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. Stockseth depicts the silhouette of a fire fighter carrying a hose, against a city skyline. The sky is a stunning mix of bright red and yellow, vividly meeting in a manner that represents Stockseth's unique style.

"The Unforgettable Fire" is Stockseth's second donation to the MDA Collection, following her 1998 work, "Giraffes at Sunset." She also created a winter scene, titled "Peaceful Winter," which was featured on an MDA Holiday Wishes greeting card.

Stockseth, 19, is affected by infantile progressive spinal muscular atrophy (also known as SMA type 1, or Werdnig-Hoffman disease), which affects the motor neurons that control the muscles. Because of her disease, which usually results in death by age 2, Stockseth weighs just 24 pounds, and has to lie prone next to a canvas in order to paint. Thus, "The Unforgettable Fire" took more than a month to complete.

Stockseth is studying multimedia and computer graphics at Utah Career College. "We're deeply honored to welcome Elsha Stockseth's latest work into the permanent MDA Art Collection," MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. "Her contribution to our Collection will undoubtedly move all who see it as it travels to galleries and museums as part of special exhibits of the Collection."<

The new addition by Stockseth will be exhibited at MDA's national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., and will be included in MDA Art Collection traveling exhibits. 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; Blackhawk Museum, Danville, Calif.; Fresno Metropolitan Museum; JFK Center at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; 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 more than 40 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 University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.