First Street Gallery highlights special skills, talents
Campus Times
November 1, 1996
Individuals with physical or developmental disabilities can find a place
in the small community of Claremont to express their artistic talents.
First Street Gallery, which opened in November 1989, by the Tierra del Sol
Foundation has a belief that individuals with disabilities can offer great
artistic expression to their communities cultural and economic development.
The gallery likes to look at the individuals as artist, rather than as individuals
with disabilities, according to Rebecca Hamm, program director at First
Street.
The Tierra del Sol Foundation is a non-profit organization, which offers
services and developmental programs to adults with disabilities that range
from autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and Down syndrome.
The gallery is set up in a studio/classroom, where the artists express themselves
through ceramics, printmaking, painting and creative writing.
The gallery emphasizes programs in areas of social skills, self advocacy,
daily living exercises and leisure skills.
The work of these artists is put on display in shows in the community and
through nationwide events. The artists receive 60 percent of the profits
from their art work.
The gallery will feature a show at Borders Books and Music in
Montclair, opening today. The show will present artwork from First Street
Gallery, along with outside art from other galleries.
The show will run through the month of November, with a special technical
presentation of printmaking Tuesday, Nov. 5.
The gallery has a holiday show planned to run from Nov. 14-Jan. 9. The show
will be a double feature, of holiday artwork which will be sold at gift
giving prices; as well as a special presentation from artist Helen Rae.
Rae, who has been with First Street Gallery for five years, creates a form
of art that is expressionistic and figurative in both drawing and painting.
First Street Gallery is different in that it gives the "opportunity
to
connect with the personal expression of artist who had prior been isolated
from the world of art," said Hamm.
The First Street Gallery has a current goal of raising $50,000, to replenish
funds that were diminished by cutbacks in State Social Service funding.
For more information about First Street Gallery or becoming a Friend of
First Street, call the gallery at (909) 626-5455 or visit their web site
(http://www.tstonramp.com/fsgac).