Sara Steele, Exhibit Coordinator, Co-Chair, Special Needs Committee, reflects -

Over the years, I have come to believe that we all have special needs. Many of us walk around apparently normal, seemingly fine, yet hobbled by invisible handicaps of the soul. Some of us simply have challenges more readily identified with our culture as handicapped or differently-abled. Most of us have survived something disquieting, painful, or life-altering. Some of us triumph daily in spite of these experiences. If we were more aware of the wounds and scars we bear from our own suffering, we might find it easier to look those more visible differences directly in the eye.

The idea of a special needs exhibit is double-edged. Like issues of race and class, there are a host of opinions and philosophical debates, and like race and class, great differences between the philosophical discussions and the day-to-day realities faced by people living with different abilities in our culture. Why should we segregate people with disabilities?

There are artists who refuse to enter shows such as this, preferring to be identified only as artists, having their work exhibited without any awareness or consideration of their particular challenges in making it. The myriad daily challenges of people with various special needs, be they visible or invisible, do not make the works of artists inhabiting these different-abilities any more or less worthy as art. Art must be judged on its own merit: the power to express feelings, to catalyze emotional responses, to move us in some way. And yet, the challenges faced by many of the artists included in this show do inform the works, and the artists' challenges, as well as their creations, may serve to inform and enlighten us.

The everyday life of wheelchair dependent people can be enormously challenging to creativity, problem-solving skills, patience, good humor, and self-esteem, among other things. Spend a day walking through Philadelphia observing through the eyes of a wheelchair user. Notice the uneven sidewalks, sporadically placed curb cuts, the number of buildings whose entries have steps up or down, door handles that cannot be reached from a wheelchair or turned by someone with impaired small motor skills, the dearth of places to park a van equipped with a lift.

Something as simple as going to a restaurant involves not only calling in advance to ensure accessibility (many are not) but often arriving to find obstacles that more non-disabled owners have not taken into account. And these obstructions are of an impersonal nature. Unwillingness to make eye contact, stares, fears of inquiring about assistance: these, like all fears rooted in differences and lack of knowledge, are part of the day-to-day experience of people with handicaps.

Many of the homeless people on our streets are citizens with serious mental illnesses. Some are veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Others suffer PTSD as victims of violence. Some are victims only of extreme poverty. Their access to art supplies may be diminished, but their artistic expressions are not.

Many members of the Deaf Community are adamant about not being identified as handicapped. Some look upon hearing people as limited in their abilities to perceive and communicate, and prefer to be identified as members of a culture that has awareness and abilities hearing people often lack. Hearing people take much for granted; imagine never hearing the voice of your loved ones, or a piece of music, or birds singing. Theirs is a world of silence, yet watch someone sign and see a world filled with powerful artistic expression.

It is my hope that people move through this exhibition and allow the art to work on them, through a range of senses and emotions. Visitors should close their eyes and see these sculptures with their fingers and their skin. Notice texture, form, volume, and temperature. How is seeing changed? Consider eye level and what might be seen from a different position. Sit on a bench and listen to one of Jason Dilley's pieces, knowing that the voice being heard is of the person who sat for that very casting. Touch the face of that person. Many wounds and many illnesses are not visible. Might that change the way an individual interacts with the next stranger he meets?

In an ideal world, we would appreciate all the many gifts each of us, with our different blend of experiences and abilities, brings to enrich our community. In the real world, change happens slowly. It is my hope that, in some small way, this exhibit opens hearts and brings the world a little closer to the ideal.

Coalition Ingenu

Coalition Ingenu is a non-profit organization working with mental health centers, homeless shelters, and rehabilitation programs to promote and encourage creativity as a means to psychological and emotional well-being. Many people with serious mental illness or emotional conditions have difficulty fitting in with the current structure of society. Their awareness of this difficulty results in feelings of having been discarded and deemed without purpose. These feelings feed the cycle of depression which halts progress toward mental and emotional well-being.

Artists of Coalition Ingenu have been generally precluded from formal training or significant exposure to fine art by circumstances of extreme poverty or mental illness. For some participants, the ability to see something through to completion is a major breakthrough. For others, a passion is born which results in a clear and powerful sense of purpose and self-worth. When the results of their creative efforts are displayed in their artwork, these formerly discarded individuals are transformed into self-motivated and valued participants in an honored and respected cultural tradition. Coalition Ingenu was founded in 1995 by artist Robert Bullock, who continues to direct it with Susan Norris.

For more information, please contact Coalition Ingenu at 2335 N. 52nd St., Philadelphia, PA, 19131; (215) 878-1825.

Form in Art

Form in Art, which began at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1971, combines classes in sculpture and the study of art history into a course for people who are blind and partially sighted. Because classes take place in the Museum, the Museum's collection plays an important role in the education of the students. Form in Art is an effort to reverse the almost universal don't touch policy of art museums by giving those without sight the opportunity to learn about art from original art objects. Art history lessons, touch tours, and lectures by museum staff help facilitate the learning process by exposing students to a wide range of periods and styles of art. Students are not required to have had previous art training before entering the Form in Art program.

More information is available on Form in Art or programs for people with other disabilities by calling the Office of Special Audiences in the Museum's Division of Education at (215) 684-7601, 684-7602, or 684-7600 (TYY).

NuVisions for

Disabled Artists, Inc.

NuVisions for Disabled Artists, Inc. was founded in 1984 as a fully independent 501(c)(3) organization by the current Executive Director, Kaye E. Schonbach, an artist with disabilities and a psychotherapist. NuVisions was established to enable artists with physical challenges to pursue professional and semi-professional artistic opportunities. Because of their special needs, these artists cannot always participate in many private exhibitions and their work is either omitted or under presented. Very few professional galleries are disability accessible. Even when a gallery is accessible, it is difficult for artists with physical challenges to transport and present their own work. Many members of NuVisions have sustained brain injuries, and for these individuals even communicating with art galleries is difficult.

NuVisions serves these artists by sponsoring accessible exhibitions, special projects, and educational opportunities. Through efforts of NuVisions, members have the opportunity to exhibit their work and earn much needed supplemental income, thus empowering artists with physical challenges to remain self-sufficient members of the community.

Programs that NuVisions sponsors demonstrate abilities and accomplishments of those who are physically challenged. It is a goal of the organization to continue to educate the non-disabled community through exhibitions and demonstrations of the creative and intelligent efforts of artists who are physically challenged and visually impaired. The attitudinal barriers of the non-disabled are often more difficult for the person with disabilities to overcome than the physical barriers they face. By coming together as a group, artists of NuVisions experience a shared sensitivity and provide emotional support needed for their professional and personal growth.

Each year, exhibitions and community outreach further the educational message of inclusion for individuals with physical challenges. Since 1984, the group has organized an average of 4-6 exhibitions each year and conducted 48 educational seminars at rehabilitation hospitals, art centers, and schools.

For more information, contact NuVisions for Disabled Artists, Inc., 8592 Benton Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19152; (215) 342-1299, http://home.att.net/~hbedelstein/index.html.

Vision Thru Art

Vision Thru Art, a long-standing program for persons who are visually impaired and legally blind, has created a wonderful community in the sculpture studies of Allens Lane Art Center. Women and men of various ages, races, backgrounds, and arts experience (from beginner to advanced) join together every Wednesday throughout the year for instruction and fellowship. Instruction is provided for sculpture projects in clay, plaster, and paper maché, as well as for wood and stone carving. Sculpture created in the classes is regularly selected for exhibition in national exhibits by artists who are blind. Numerous works have been chosen for shows in New York, Europe, and Japan. Instruction is led by the distinguished artist and teacher Robert Fluhr, Director of the Gallery at Allens Lane and Director of the Vision Thru Art Program.

For more information, please contact the Allens Lane Art Center, Allens La. and McCallum St., Philadelphia, PA 19119; (215) 242-0523. To register for Vision Thru Art, call (215) 248-0546.