About MDA

Fighting every day to free individuals — and the families who love them — from the harmful effects of muscle-debilitating diseases so they can live longer and grow stronger

Art Collection

The Muscular Dystrophy Association Art Collection was established in 1992 to highlight the achievements of artists with disabilities and to emphasize that physical disability is no barrier to creativity. The collection, on display in MDA offices across the country, comprises 400 original works by adults and children who have muscular dystrophy, ALS or a related life-threatening disease MDA supports. Artists in the collection represent all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and range in age from 2 to 84 when the artwork was created.

The MDA Art Collection is one of the most varied collections in America. The versatility attests to the imagination and talent of the artists. The collection features unusual artistic media, from digital designs to collages with corn, to paint applied with wheelchair wheels and human feet. There are also many works in more traditional oils, watercolors, acrylics, pen and ink, crayons, pastels, bronze, ceramics and photography.

Subject matter ranges from self-portraits to landscapes, and from still lifes to outer space fantasies.

In addition to showcasing the work of talented artists who are affected by neuromuscular diseases, MDA's Art Collection allows the artists to articulate their distinctive vision of living with a disability.

The Culture of Disability

The MDA Art Collection illustrates the emergence of artists with a sense of pride in their experiences, including those as people with disabilities. Their work is an important element in, and vehicle for, the unique culture of disability. These works provide kids and adults served by MDA with the opportunity to visually communicate their experiences with neuromuscular disease.

Exhibits

MDA Art Collection exhibits are initiated by either MDA or the host location. All exhibits are underwritten by the participating facility or by corporate/individual sponsors.

Exhibits typically consist of 20 to 40 works and vary in duration from about four to eight weeks. The curator selects the works to be shown at each individual venue. Some exhibits emphasize range and diversity while others have a specific focus (e.g., landscapes, self-portraits, etc.).

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

To date, the MDA Art Collection has been viewed by more than 3.5 million people nationwide.

Support the Art Collection

The Muscular Dystrophy Association welcomes your support of our Art Collection and our efforts to find research breakthroughs across diseases, care for kids and adults from day one and provide services and support for families in hometowns across America. MDA's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors and generous organizations. Contributions to MDA are tax deductible.

 

  • Scenic Wonder

    Murray BullockPolymyositis (PM)

  • Sea Lion

    Al CareagaCharcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT)

  • Sea Lion Galapagos 2002

    Angelo SciulliAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

  • Sea Surge

    Ruth BruenLimb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD)

  • Seascape

    Russell HammondSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Seashore Mural

    Various ArtistsMetabolic Myopathies

  • Self Portrait - Gabe Montez

    Gabe MontezFriedreich's Ataxia (FA)

  • Self Portrait - Mackenzie Dreppard

    Mackenzie DreppardSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Self Portrait - Mark Sias

    Mark SiasBecker Muscular Dystrophy (BMD)

  • Self Portrait - Omar Reyes

    Omar ReyesAll Disease

  • Self Portrait - Timmy Greeson

    Timmy GreesonMyasthenia Gravis (MG)

  • Self-Portrait - Christian Reynolds

    Christian ReynoldsAll Disease

  • Self-Portrait - Christina Lara

    Christina LaraFriedreich's Ataxia (FA)

  • Self-Portrait - Heather Harrelson

    Heather HarrelsonCharcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT)

  • Self-Portrait - Isaac Lovely

    Isaac LovelyMitochondrial Myopathies (MM)

  • Self-Portrait - Julian Dombrowski

    Julian DombrowskiAll Disease

  • Self-Portrait - Laura Robles

    Laura RoblesDermatomyositis

  • Self-Portrait - Michelle Lorenzini

    Michelle LorenziniFriedreich's Ataxia (FA)

  • Self-Portrait - Milda Vizbar

    Milda VizbarCharcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT)

  • Shawl

    Ariane BermanLimb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD)

  • Shelter

    Jean WatsonMitochondrial Myopathies (MM)

  • Shooting for Hope

    Bryson FosterAll Disease

  • Siamese Fighting Fish

    Shelley RobinsonFriedreich's Ataxia (FA)

  • Silent Thoughts

    Brent GauthierSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Sing Out

    Milda VizbarCharcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT)

  • Skeletal Study in Wheelchair

    Gerald Jean-PierreSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Skeletal Study of the Spinal Column

    Gerald Jean-PierreSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Sky Fire

    Stephen BlankenshipFacioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSH, FSHD)

  • Sledding on Hillcrest

    William TitusInclusion-Body Myositis (IBM)

  • Smokey Mountains of East Tennessee

    Ashley DabbsSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Snow Owl

    Karen WheelerSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Solitude Over the Shaded Villiage

    Joshua BeeAll Disease

  • Spring is Here

    Mallory PartonLimb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD)

  • Square Curly Ash Bowl

    Thomas MumperCharcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT)

  • St. Louis Skyline

    Charles MarksLimb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD)

  • Star Team

    Milda VizbarCharcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT)

  • Stargazer

    Dorothy O'BrienAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

  • Stars Over Harbor

    Kenneth TurnerSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Steaming to the Setting Sun

    Ben B. MathewsLimb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD)

  • Still Life

    William Bill RinaldiLimb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD)

  • STS 63 and Me

    Ken JaschSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Summer at the Cape

    Ronald AbbottSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Summer Camp

    Amanda AucoinSpinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

  • Summer Camp in the City

    Various ArtistsMetabolic Myopathies

  • Summer Fun at Work

    Christine O'BrienMitochondrial Myopathies (MM)

  • Summer Retreat

    Christine O'BrienMitochondrial Myopathies (MM)

  • Summer Sun

    Jean WatsonMitochondrial Myopathies (MM)

  • Summertime at Camp Maria

    Darren GuestCongenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD)

  • Sun

    James KartousAll Disease

  • Sun Plasma

    Robert CoeAll Disease

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