When the Art Student Becomes a Teacher

Arts Unbound, the nonprofit gallery and studio, will display its annual Student and Teacher Exhibit, beginning with an opening reception on Saturday, June 23, from 2:00-5:00pm. The organization specializes in individual fine art lessons for students serious about improving their skills. Lessons are open to everyone, but the organization is dedicated to making sure art is accessible to all by exhibiting the work of artists with disabilities and emerging senior artists in its gallery and store.

One student included in the exhibit is paying forward what she has learned from Arts Unbound’s teaching artists. Florangel Nunez began taking lessons with Arts Unbound in 2015, studying painting. Last summer, the Fair Lawn resident started tutoring two girls ages 7 and 8. The following week another girl joined the group, and after a month she had five students of her own. Since then, every Saturday for two hours she teaches art to up to eight girls.

Florangel’s mother, Ana Nunez, calls her daughter her “miracle girl” after she survived encephalitis, a coma, and an 11-month hospitalization. Now in her twenties, Florangel is not letting the lingering effects of that illness stop her from being a model for other artistic girls. She continues to study painting with Arts Unbound teaching artist Adebunmi Gbadebo. Gbadebo is an artist from Maplewood, NJ and recent graduate of The School of Visual Arts in New York. She has exhibited at the Jacob Javits Center, Newark Open Doors, Rutgers University, and other venues in New York and New Jersey.

The annual exhibit of work by students and their teachers highlights the success of Arts Unbound’s visual art education program for adults with mental illness, developmental, and physical disabilities, and for seniors. By focusing on the visual expression of the artists, rather than any impairments, the group challenges the boundaries and stigma associated with disability and aging. The exhibit will be on display through July 28 during the gallery’s regular operating hours, Monday through Friday 10am to 4pm, and Saturdays noon to 5pm. The Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound is located in the Valley Arts District at 544 Freeman Street, in Orange.

Arts Unbound is dedicated to the artistic achievement of people living with disabilities and seniors. They provide visual arts education and professional development to help emerging artists compete on the retail market. By promoting the work of artists with disabilities and seniors, Arts Unbound centers their art-making rather than any impairments and by doing so challenges the stigma associated with disability and aging. Learn more at www.artsunbound.org.

Photo: Florangel Nunez, center front, with her students (credit: Ana Nunez)

Triangles and Beyond, painting by Florangel Nunez

Fedeyi, silk screen and mixed media by Adebunmi Gbadebo.