ST. LOUIS’ SHELDON ART GALLERIES
TO HOST MDA EXHIBIT
TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 21, 2005 – The Sheldon Art Galleries in
St. Louis will display 36 selected works by young artists from the Muscular
Dystrophy Association’s Art Collection.
“Transcending Barriers: Selections from the MDA Art Collection”
runs from Sept. 24 through Feb. 4 at the gallery at 3648 Washington
Blvd.
The Collection features artwork by young and adult artists across the
country who challenge the obstacles imposed by neuromuscular
diseases. For the St. Louis exhibit, children created all of the
featured selections, which include traditional acrylics and watercolors,
as well as pen and ink art, crayon art, digitally enhanced media, mixed
media and masks.
The children’s exhibit is highlighted by artwork from two Missouri
artists, current MDA National Goodwill Ambassador Morgan Fritz of St.
Peters, and former MDA National Goodwill Ambassador Sarah Schwegel of
Kirkwood. Both Morgan, 6, and Sarah, 12, have spinal
muscular atrophy, a progressive disease that causes weakness in the
arms, legs and torso.
“It’s a great honor to have a portion of our MDA Art Collection
on display at the Sheldon Art Galleries,” MDA President &
CEO Robert Ross said. “We’re inspired by the talented children
who have contributed to the Collection and delighted to share their
remarkable works with the people of Missouri.”
The Sheldon Art Galleries, located in the Emerson Galleries building,
encompass 7,000 square feet and feature six galleries with rotating
exhibits, including photography, architecture, St. Louis artists and
collections, jazz history and children’s art. In 1998, the Sheldon
Arts Foundation added the art galleries to the Sheldon Concert Hall
as part of a $5 million expansion project.
The galleries feature more than 20 diverse exhibitions each year, attracting
both new and seasoned art lovers. The galleries also welcome over 15,000
school-aged children who participate in art education programs each
year.
The exhibit will be open to the public Tuesday and Thursday from 12
p.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A special reception for the Collection will be held on Friday, Sept.
23, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Admission to the exhibit is free. For directions
or more information, call (314) 533-9900.
The Collection’s permanent home is MDA’s national headquarters
in Tucson. Samples of the Collection also can be viewed 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 Collection currently comprises more than 300 works by artists aged
2 to 82 and represents all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto
Rico. Each artist is affected by one of the neuromuscular diseases in
the MDA program.
Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Art Museum
of Western Virginia in Roanoke; 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 more than 40 neuromuscular
diseases through programs of worldwide research,
comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health
education. MDA maintains clinics for area
adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases at the Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual
private contributors.
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