Thirty Regional Artists Support Art Programs for Artists with Disabilities

ORANGE, NJ: Arts Unbound has announced the line-up for its fifth annual Friends of Arts Unbound art exhibit and benefit sale. Several new artists are joining familiar favorites to raise funds for the non-profit gallery and art studio for people with disabilities and seniors. More than thirty artists will be supporting Arts Unbound programs through an exhibit and sale of their own work.

Armisey Smith, well-known in Newark for her public murals and curatorial projects, will be exhibiting in this benefit show for the first time with a wall sculpture in the style of her piece titled “Layered Lady” constructed of mixed materials including shingles painted with acrylic paint (pictured).

“I’ve been using repurposed shingles to create a series of wall sculptures that include “Layered Lady”. I was thinking about the material as a metaphor revealing and concealing the complexities of being a woman of color,” said Smith.

Other new artists featured in the exhibit this year include, from Orange, Sylvia Taylor, April Tracey, and Kathleen Heron; from West Orange, Jennie Traill Schaeffer and Amelia Panico; from South Orange, Lisa Pressman South, and Sherry Beth Sacks; from Maplewood, Catherine Delett, and Peggy Excell; from Westfield, Gail Fishberg; from Jersey City, Donna Greenberg; and from Evan Ginsberg from Toronto.

Returning favorites showing their continued support for Arts Unbound include, from South Orange, Rick Hauser and Dorothy Ganek; from Maplewood, Kathy Cantwell; from West Orange, Sarah Canfield, Joan Goldsmith, and Adam Gustavson; from Florham Park, Susan Faiola; from Orange, Terry Boddie, Robert Ramos, Ronald Freeman, and Mike Malbrough; and from Newark, Toni Thomas. Montclair is represented by Gayle Mahoney and Yvette Lucas. Mahoney and Lucas are both members of the Board of Directors of Studio Montclair, as is Sarah Canfield. Louis Toledo of Millburn, Humberto Ramos of Greenville, S.C., and Jane R. Dell, a painter in New York City round out the group.

The exhibit opens with a reception for the public on Saturday, April 1, from 5-8pm. All are welcome to attend, enjoy refreshments, and meet the artists. The Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound is located in the Valley Arts District at 544 Freeman Street, Orange.

Arts Unbound is dedicated to the artistic achievement of people living with disabilities and the continued artistic enrichment of seniors. They provide visual arts education and professional development to help emerging artists compete in the retail market. Last year, they exhibited the work of 95 artists, many self-taught or “outsider” artists. By promoting the work of artists with disabilities and seniors, they focus on their art-making rather than any impairments, and by doing so challenge the stigma associated with disability and aging.

The Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound is open Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm, and Saturdays noon-5pm. The address is 544 Freeman Street, Orange, NJ 07042. More information is available at www.artsunbound .org or by calling 973-675-2787.

Image: Armisey Smith, Layered Lady, 2017, shingles and acrylic.