In 1993, the president and medical director of what was then known as the Matheny School and Hospital, Robert Schonhorn and Dr. Gabor Barabas, launched a program called Arts Access. The idea was to see if people with disabilities could create fine art, assisted by professional artists who would act as their facilitators. What started off as a small pilot program has blossomed into a thriving arts program that encompasses painting, digital art, sculpture, dance, choreography, poetry, creative writing and drama.
The Matheny Medical and Educational center is a special hospital and educational facility in Peapack for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities. Many of the artists in the Arts Access Program cannot speak and do not have control of their hands and arms. But their minds are intact, and they use unique methods that enable them to overcome their disabilities and express themselves in multiple artistic disciplines.
The 20th anniversary of Arts Access, Full Circle 2013 Reflections, will be celebrated frm 3-6 p.m. on Saturday, November 2, in the Robert Schonhorn Arts Center on the Matheny campus. A contemporary fine art exhibit will be followed by a stage performance featuring original work by Arts Access artists in theatre, dance and creative writing. Following the stage presentation, there will be a food and dessert reception featuring food and beverages from cocoLuxe fine pastries and Cafe Azzurro in Peapack, the Gladstone Tavern in Gladstone, 3 West and Urban Table in Basking Ridge and Village Office Supply in Somerset.
The fine art exhibit, according to Scott Beil, the curator, will "highlight the strong caliber of work that our artists have been quietly creating upon this little hill in Peapack over the past 20 years."
Arts Access received a $10,000 Challenge America Fast-Track grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the Full Circle celebration. U.S. Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ 07), co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, is honorary chair and will speak at the event. Gold sponsors are Provident Bank and James and Judith Finn; Silver sponsor is The Hartford; Bronze sponsors are: the Angeletti Group, Angelina and Steven Brown and Shoprite of Hunterdon County. Admission is $30, and all funds raised support the Arts Access Program. For more information or to order tickets, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260, or email pcats@matheny.org.
