No Shame In My Game exhibition at Arts Unbound

Arts Unbound is excited to announce the exhibition No Shame In My Game, featuring work by more than twenty African-American and African diaspora artists with disabilities. The show will be on view from February 2 through March 16, 2019. The opening reception is on Saturday, February 2, 2019, from 6:00-8:00pm at The Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound, 544 Freeman Street, Orange, NJ.

Montclair native, Richard Pierson, is a self-taught painter who describes his visual style as “expressionist”. His paintings often depict parables from everyday life with a sense of humor. For example, his portrait of a bartender is titled, “Therapist”. He is also an accomplished musician. He studied composition at Juilliard in New York and jazz at Berklee College of Music in Boston and traveled internationally as a professional musician. He talks openly about being diagnosed with clinical depression and how the death of his wife initiated a struggle with mental illness that became too difficult to manage on his own. The sixty-two year old artist says he “continues to strive to develop his craft"every day. He can often be found at a local Montclair coffee shop with his paints and canvas or performing with his jazz band at area music venues. Pierson will have three paintings in the show and he will be performing with his jazz trio at the exhibition’s opening reception on February 2.

This exhibit features visual art by adults with mental illness, developmental, and physical disabilities to address and dismantle the stigma around disability within African-American and African diaspora communities. The show includes painting, drawing, mixed media, and sculptural art by more than twenty artists from across the U.S., both emerging talent as well as established artists.

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.

The Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound is located in the Valley Arts District at 544 Freeman Street, in Orange. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm, and by appointment. www.artsunbound.org or call 973-675-2787.