The University at Buffalo Art Gallery, Center for the Arts in partnership with Southeast Works’ Creative Arts Collective and Aspire’s iXpress presents Crossing Lines: Mind to Minds. The exhibition opens with a free public reception in the First Floor Gallery on Thursday, August 1, 2013, from 5 to 7 pm. The artists will be in attendance. Southeast Works’ Creative Arts Collective’s Chime Choir will perform at the opening reception at 5:30 pm.
The artists involved in the Southeast Works’ Creative Arts Collective and iXpress arts program at Aspire of WNY have come together to create a riveting show about communication. This exhibition is the product of a first-time collaboration between the artists at the two agencies in which they explored what communication means to them, whether it be miscommunication, symbols, ways of communicating with one another, or technology used to communicate. Over the summer, the artists have been creating pen pal artworks, which involve artists at one agency producing drawings, sculptures, or paintings during one-week sessions and then sending it to artists at the other agency, producing a fascinating back-and-forth dialog. The artists will also create temporary assemblage installations together directly in the UB Art Gallery, Center for the Arts.
The artists come from two agencies in WNY that work with adults with developmental disabilities. Southeast Works Creative Arts Collective is known for using found materials and objects and incorporating them into their artwork. They use discarded materials from work they are contracted to do at their center; anything from spindles, cardboard rolls, fabric, nuts, and bolts, to bulletproof glass scraps. The artists manipulate these found objects to create collages, sculpture/found object art, paintings, and fabric arts, which convey who they are as individuals.
iXpress is an expressive arts program for people with developmental disabilities. It includes all forms of artistic expression, from painting, clay sculpting, and writing to acting, singing, and playing musical instruments. Participants are led through an artistic process designed to fuel personal inspiration, improve communication skills and develop a stronger sense of self. iXpress instructors work with occupational, speech, and physical therapists to provide each artist with individualized equipment and methods to overcome their challenges with mobility, motor control, language, or learning. Many participants use adaptive artistic equipment, including head pointers instead of hands, adapted computers for writing, adapted paintbrushes, helmets equipped with a paintbrush, or other adaptive techniques. Both Southeast Works and iXpress emphasize that their individuals are not disabled artists, but artists with a disability.
The UB Art Gallery is funded by the UB College of Arts and Sciences, the Visual Arts Building Fund, and the Seymour H. Knox Foundation Fine Arts Fund.