People with disabilities show remarkable ability in the arts

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PHOTOS THIS ARTICLE COURTESY OF SABO PR/LEGACY TRUST

Photo 1
Legacy Trust art competition judges are, left to right: Elaine Dalcher, local artist and Grand Rapids Public Schools art instructor; Jim Albright, president and founder of Albright Insights; The Hon. Robert Jonker, judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan; and Chris LaPorte, Aquinas College instructor who won the top prize in ArtPrize 2010. Not pictured is John Gonzalez, statewide entertainment editor for mlive.com.

Photo 2
Lane C. Cooper’s “Aware” sculpture in metal

Photo 3
Elizabeth Ann Martin created “Fish Out of Water” in ceramic.

Photo 4
Josh Andrus, “Colors of My Day,” a  multi-panel painting in watercolor, acrylics, charcoal and pencil

Photo 5
“Tut,” an oil painting by Jackson D. Botsford, winner of the first Lillian Perry Walker Award.

by Cynthia Price
Legal News

After seeing the complex and wonderful pieces by adult artists with disabilities entered in the Legacy Trust Award Collection (LTAC), an observer might be tempted to say, “These reflect ability, not disability.”
This statement would not be meant  to downplay the difficulties faced by people who live with physical and mental challenges, but to observe that disabilities do not define the person.

Or as Judge Robert Jonker of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, who joined with four others to pick winners in the competition, puts it, “[I have] a growing sense of discomfort with the word ‘disability.’ I did not feel like I was interacting with ‘disabled’ people, so much as I felt I was interacting with people who had a different set of abilities and limitations than the set I have. I felt that we were all simply ‘differently abled,’ rather than lumped into categories...”

Indeed, Judge Jonker says that the entries showed such impressive ability that it was almost impossible to choose which to single out. “I honestly think I found things in each piece submitted that made a plausible case for a winning vote,” he comments.

Judge Jonker served as a celebrity judge, along with Jim Albright of Hudsonville, president/founder of Albright Insights and holder of a patent on the smart phone app Xcess-Able that helps people with disabilities navigate; Elaine Dalcher, well-known local artist and Grand Rapids Public Schools art instructor for 34 years, who  won the 2012 YWCA Tribute Award for the Arts; John Gonzalez, Mlive’s statewide entertainment editor, as well as a blogger, radio show host, and expert on Michigan travel; and Chris LaPorte, Aquinas College professor whose work “Cavalry” won first place in ArtPrize 2010, and “City Band” placed and in the top ten in  ArtPrize 2012.

The winners of the competition will themselves be entered in ArtPrize, and Legacy Trust will offer marketing and media promotion support to the artists. Each also won $500.

Legacy Trust, a Michigan-chartered locally-owned bank that specializes in providing investment and wealth-management services in West Michigan, started sponsoring the Award Competition in 2010. The celebrity judges chose one of the winners and awarded the Lillian Perry Walker award, named in honor of the young woman “whose spirit was the spark that brought LTAC to life.” The public also voted on May 23, both in person at the Grand Rapids Art Museum and on Facebook, casting over 1000 votes.

“We are beyond thrilled with the overwhelming response to this year’s competition,” said Bill Walker, CEO and president of Legacy Trust.  “The caliber of art was particularly amazing this year.”
The winners, whose pieces are pictured at right, are:

—Lane C. Cooper, the celebrity judges’ choice. Cooper has won LTAC twice before, as well as awards at Festival of the Arts. He suffered a closed-head injury in a 2003 car accident and sculpts  to help cope with violent headaches.

—Elizabeth Ann Martin lives in Beverly Hills and works in ceramics primarily, but also does papermaking and printmaking, which can be seen at  www.elegantdesignsbyelizabeth.com.

—Josh Andrus of Grand Rapids, with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, told his parents of his desire to paint by his normal communication method, spelling out words on a letter board. This is his second LTAC win; his website is www.hearts4thearts.net.

—Jackson D. Botsford, whose painting won the inaugural Lillian Perry Walker Award, is from Caledonia. His diagnosis is “high-functioning autistic,” and he has received degrees with honors from Aquinas College and Kendall College of Art and design. This is his first year competing in LTAC.

Judge Jonker, who was appointed a federal judge in 2007 after practicing at Warner Norcross and Judd, says that he participated because he enjoys opportunities to be part of community events, since “it allows me to be part of a process in which I can work collegially with people that never have to know or experience me as a United States District Court Judge.” He also says he likes art, and adds, “There are quite a few cases on my docket that involve claims by persons with disabilities.  This event allowed me to work with ‘disabled people’ in a completely different context and to focus not only on the limits and special challenges they face, but also on they amazing things they accomplish.”

For more, visit www.legacygr.com.
 

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