Who Are We, After All?

Who Are We, After All?

I am in a reflective mood with a respectful tone and a grateful gesture, thinking about all of the artists whose work has come to define Arts Unbound.  We are no longer an organization of a few but rather one of many gifted talents whose work line the walls of our gallery each and every month.  From our veteran stars such as the prolific Tracy Reinhardt, Nicolenanina, Christian Markovic, Tom Yezza, Colleen Creedon, Laura Kaufman, Beverly Kohn, Justin Canha, Stanley Winarsky, Debbie Davidson, Tom Wade, Sara Sanders, Robert Otterbine and Mary Drylewicz to the many newer artistic voices – Amy Charmatz, Chris Miller, Renaldo Byrd,  Ellen Angelastro, Jon Gabry,  Elizabeth Crelin, Brad Friedman, Lisa Dornfeld, Dashir Johnson, Anie Knipping and Cheryl Wulfers. 

Works of art emanating from our classroom are equally strong and appealing and include beautiful creations from the students in our many classes (Jespy, Groovers and more) and a strong and capable team from the Fiddle Foundation classes whose work will be exhibited this month of February, as well as young artists from local schools including the city of Orange, Bloomfield and West Orange.  And then there is the volume of work created by those on the other end of the age spectrum, our senior citizens who participate in the Generations program to produce lovely pieces of jewelry, fine art and craft that continue to sell strongly during the course of the year.  We are grateful to a group of foundations who continue to support us during strong and lean times – The Kessler Foundation, Grotta Fund, Wallerstein Foundation, Bass Foundation, Newark Diocese, Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation, The NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities, The Sklaw and Chancy Foundations as well as several prominent banks – PNC, Wachovia and Columbia.  We are proud to have a group of art teachers with uncommon abilities in instruction – Program Coordinators Kathleen Heron and Stefanie Garwin as well as Barbara Folts, Billie Aber, Sherri Zuckerman, Susan Lisbin, Richard Toglia and Jason Robinson – also Jody Blatman, Teri Furr and TerryAnn Bligen .  In addition to a wise and generous Board of Directors and Board of Governors and a dedicated staff (Tashea Patterson keeps the organization ticking and together), we continue to gain strength from a group of volunteers who bind us with their wisdom and skill – Joe Ruggiero, our IT Coordinator, Russell Klein and Kai Cole, Marketing and Sales, Karen Miller and Cheryl Mayo, Bernie Searle, Diane Klein, Fabienne Daniel, Hanie Warshaw and Katherine Decotiis to name but a few.

Coming to work each Monday morning and seeing new works of art drying on the studio tables or newly hung in the gallery by our gallery director, Robert Ramos, makes me smile.  I bow to all those who are gifted with a brush or a lump of clay, a camera or objects combined uniquely and colorfully on a canvas.  I am equally grateful to those who have joined our family because of their commitment to the arts and to the disability community.    You are Arts Unbound. 

Many thanks…..

Gail Levinson, Director

What Do The Arts Mean To You?

I am not an artist.  But I do take great pleasure in incorporating art into my life whether it be exposure in a formal space such as a museum or gallery or in a performance venue such as a theater or club.  If I am in a car or on a walk watching the landscape or see the work of business or the imprint of cultural that reveal design or tradition, I find art to be appealing, enlightening, and always informative.  It adds feeling and texture to my existence and makes me think beyond myself and my individual needs and wants. 

Having worked in the human services field for many years and finally landing in an arts agency serving students and artists with disabilities, I am constantly fulfilled by the varied, often exciting creations of visual art that line the walls of our studio and gallery, and in the incoming submissions of artwork from artists across the state.  My day is always more complete when I am stimulated by works of art, when colors, shapes, styles and forms come streaming across my daily palate in ways that make me think and  feel.  I am always the better for it. 

These past many months of economic instability have hit the arts community along with other sectors, hard and fast.  Arts Unbound is lucky to be alive as an organization, having received support from foundations and donors who are committed to keeping us in business.  To them all, we are extremely grateful.   Many nonprofit agencies, particularly the small ones like us, are no longer in existence or struggling mightily, and arts organizations throughout the country  have had to cut back with staff reductions and scaled back or cancelled exhibitions and performances. 

The art world is diminishing even as we need it more. 

All of this has prompted me to write this month’s blog, as we enter the holiday season, about the importance of art, not just as a another type of product that we are seeing less of, but as a sustaining force in the lives of people that keep societies aware, fulfilled and educated.  The art form will always be with us in some manner because people are creatures of expression and creativity, however it is disconcerting to see the arts threatened during an economic downturn.   During hard times the arts are considered by some to be expendable and not central to the needs of society.   If one were to take this trend to an extreme and contemplate the very worst – a world without art – well, that is a frightening and deeply depressing thought. 

I invite readers of this blog – whether you are an artist, art enthusiast, student or teacher of the arts, marketer of the arts, even a person who doesn’t enjoy the arts –  to submit your comments, pictures and ideas and to answer the basic question….  What do the arts mean to you?  

Let us see where this goes…   Season’s Greetings.

Gail Levinson

Director, Arts Unbound

www.artsunbound.org

Wild and Crazy

We have been moving and shaking.  Artwork by artists promoted by Arts Unbound has been displayed and featured in Ridgewood, Livingston, West Orange, Maplewood and Orange.  Now that summer is over, we are back in the schools teaching kids with special needs, and we continue to offer classes to adolescents and adults living on the Autism Spectrum.  Our 2009 holiday greeting card line has just been launched and we are hosting our first bonafide fundraiser in November.  We refuse to give up, despite a recession that has made life difficult, to say the least.  We are thankful to the Kessler Foundation, The NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation, the United Way to name just a few of the generous funders who continue to support and encourage us.  Art is the vehicle which binds us and motivates us.  Come visit our gallery.  A new exhibit will begin on October 17th of lovely works of art by artists living with mental, physical and/or developmental disabilities.

The Summer Sun brings new artwork to Arts Unbound

Now that summer has arrived, we are busy preparing for our annual summer show and exhibit featuring nearly 20 artists, all of whom live with special needs. The work is outstanding and diverse, and we invite all interested persons to come and see the display which will run from July 11th through September 4th. Saturday July 25th will be a special afternoonreception for the artists and all are invited. We are so pleased that Betty and Ed McColgan from Summit are sponsoring the exhibit!!

Arts Unbound receives Award for Innovation

Arts Unbound is thrilled to be recognized by the NJ Cultural Access Network (an arm of the NJ Theatre Alliance) as recipient of the Innovation Award in the Arts.  We invite all our readers to join us this Tuesday, the 23rd of June at the State Museum in Trenton at 9:30 AM to receive this wonderful tribute.  ……. And speaking of innovations we are continuing to create new and exciting ways of reaching the public.  If you check out our website and click on the online store you will see a series of prints for sale that will look wonderful in professional office lobbies, board rooms, waiting rooms and other public spaces.  Please contact us at 973 675 2787 to order these fabulous and affordable works of art.  Each print is delivered in a choice of frame, matted, under glass with a biography of the artist and his/her unique journey as a person with a disability.

Summer brings new artwork to the gallery

This past Saturday, June 6th, the work of two artists, Stefanie Garwin and Thomas Wade was featured in the Arts Unbound gallery with a kick off reception that brought more than 70 people to view the exhibit, enjoy refreshments and purchase art.  We used the reception as an opportunity to also recognize many of the volunteers who have shared their many talents and expertise with Arts Unbound including computer technology, teaching, creating data systems, carpentry, organizational skills and more.  The general public is invited to view the exhibit, titled Recent Works,  through the month of June.  Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 10:30 am – 2:30 pm and Saturday, noon through 5 pm.

Artist Tom Wade poses in front of his artwork.

Artist Stefanie Garwin poses next to her artwork.

The Art of Promotion

Artist Gathering at Arts Unbound

We hosted a gathering of artists and other interested persons last week in the gallery.  The purpose was to create a several hour period when persons of similar expertise might get together to network, socialize and learn about a topic of mutual interest.  Two speakers, Alice Harrison and Susan Hammond, spoke about the art of promoting oneself as an artist. The notion of becoming a business person while also a creator and innovator of art is something that challenges many artists as they must find ways to make their work available and interesting to the public.  Many of the artists whom we promote are involved in multiple shows, have become adept at featuring their work on various websites and often try their hand at achieving skills in various mediums that might appeal to different customers.  I am always blown away by the sheer expanse of their creativity – some works expose the challenge of living day to day and prompt the viewer to explore the underside and crevices of life’s offerings;  others feature images that expose only beauty and contentment .  In the next posting I will select a few of the images that I find particularly powerful and expressive. For more information about the presentation log onto http://www.artpresspublishing.com/

How to cope as a young arts organization during a recession

Arts Unbound is about to end the fiscal year next month.  We are hoping to complete the year in the black and move into a new year with continued promise of grant funding, student enrollment, donor support and retail sales.  Those of you reading this blog who are managing arts organizations know how fragile the future can be – grant dollars have been reduced substantially for even the most stable arts organizations.  For those of us who are small and responsible for bringing in funding from scratch each and every year, we must be courageous in our efforts and even more creative in our thinking.  My staff and board are constantly thinking of flexible ways in which we can attract support including renting space in our gallery and studio, hosting art programs that appeal to the disability community as well as the general public and reaching out to entities not formally connected to the arts.  We have added this blog to our site and have published a face book page which I hope will connect Arts Unbound to more and more people and organizations.  If you have a face book  please become a fan.  I am eager to partner with others and would love to receive feedback and recommendations from those who might consider ways to partner with us and expand opportunities for all.  It’s tough out there, but we are committed to making it through, learning from this difficult process and finding even better ways to grow and prosper.  Contact us if you wish to become a student, teacher, volunteer or donor.

Senior Power

This month of May we are celebrating the creative power of senior citizens who attend classes in the visual arts through the Arts Unbound Generations program funded by the Grotta Fund and Wallerstein Foundations.  The gallery walls are lined with beautiful works of art made by seniors living in residential programs or attending day programs at non profit organizations in Essex, Union and Morris counties.  The work is quite stunning and diverse and we are pleased to be able to feature fine art and craft products this month created by student artists well into their eighties and nineties.  Come down to the Arts Unbound gallery at 544 Freeman Street, Orange to take a look and enjoy ……  and comment.  Also, the last day of our Mother’s Day sale will be this Saturday, May 9th from 12:30 – 5 PM in the gallery.  Hope to see you.

What is Arts Unbound?

 

Arts Unbound is a professional studio and gallery specializing in the visual arts for youth and adults with disabilities.  We embrace people of all disabilities including those living with mental, physical and developmental challenges, and we believe that disability often spurs on tremendous creativity and talent often expressed in the arts.  Our professional art classes are taught by artists and/or art teachers skilled in various mediums (photography, ceramics, jewelry making, painting, assemblage and digital design) and our gallery features works of art by student artists and independent artists living with special needs.  Please check us out on our website  www.artsunbound.org or come by and visit us in our studio or gallery at 542/544 Freeman Street, Orange, NJ.  Hours are Monday-Friday from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm and Saturday from 12:30 to 5:00 pm.