ARISE’s UNIQUE art exhibit promotes work of artists with disabilities
Courtesy of Constance Avery
Local artist Constance Avery’s piece, which is featured on the cover of this year’s UNIQUE magazine, was inspired by her brother’s art and his eye condition.
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The first thing readers see as they pick up the 2021 edition of ARISE’s UNIQUE magazine is “Life’s Canopy,” a painting reminiscent of a stained-glass window: red, blue and yellow irregular shapes outlined by black paint.
The piece is by local Syracuse artist Constance Avery, who said it was inspired by her brother who used to work on stained glass windows and has retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that prevents him from being able to use his peripheral vision.
“My youngest brother had RP … he did stained-glass windows, so my main influence I think to a lot of my line drawing or painting is the stained-glass that my brother restored,” Avery said.
Avery, who also has retinitis pigmentosa, is one of nearly 60 artists featured in this year’s presentation of the UNIQUE magazine and exhibit at the Everson Museum of Art. It is her second time being chosen as the cover artist for the magazine.
“I actually feel really honored and humbled,” she said. “When I see all of the artwork that is submitted to the UNIQUE show, there (are) a lot of wonderful and talented people that are disabled out there.”
ARISE, which annually publishes the UNIQUE magazine, is a Syracuse organization that helps to support people with disabilities in gaining independence. Classified as an Independent Living Center, ARISE has five main characteristics.
These characteristics include the organization being run by people with disabilities, that it is located in the community it serves, and that it does not operate a residential facility and it helps people live independently. Lastly, ARISE is a nonprofit organization that serves people of all ages with any disability.
“We serve people with physical disabilities, sensory disabilities, developmental and intellectual disabilities,” ARISE CEO Tania Anderson said. “We do everything from employment to skill-building, to building ramps for people’s houses.”
ARISE’s UNIQUE program is a reflection of the organization’s overall mission to create a local community that every person can fully participate in, as stated on its website. This year’s showcase at the Everson Museum of Art began on Aug. 19 and will run until Sept. 26.
The program gives members of the community with disabilities the opportunity to have an outlet for creative expression, Anderson said. Although the magazine portion of the UNIQUE program has been published for over 20 years, the exhibit at Everson is only in its second year, according to the website.
“We love this annual partnership with ARISE because it allows us to connect with artists in the central New York community and gives museum visitors the chance to see work they might not encounter otherwise,” said Steffi Chappell, the museum’s assistant curator.
The museum is located in downtown Syracuse and is open to visitors from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for students.
When it comes to having her work showcased in the UNIQUE exhibit, Avery said what excites her most is being able to share the way she sees the world with an audience that wouldn’t normally be able to see through her eyes.
Having to constantly explain her RP to other people is one thing, but getting to display her view on canvas is what Avery loves about her art.
“When I can get my work out there and people can see, the response from that is what keeps me going and motivated.”
Published on September 15, 2021 at 10:19 pm
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