The new "Minds Wide Open Art Center" (open house, Feb 19, in conjunction with Gallery Hop) is the result of a collaboration between several agencies that serve people with disabilities, including Arc of the Bluegrass, Bluegrass Regional Mental Health Board, Access, Connections, and Capitol House.

"The arts are one of the few places where people with disabilities can compete equally with everyone else," says Bruce Burris, director of the art center.

According to Burris, most of the agencies that work with people with disabilities have wanted arts programs for several years, but barriers such as funding kept them from each having their own programs. So the next logical step was to bring these agencies together to develop a single
program.

The reasons for bringing the arts to people with disabilities are many, but Burris hit upon a few of the most important. "Through arts," states Burris, "People can tell their story instead of somebody else telling it for them."

Burris also points to the fact that some people with disabilities are able to best express their thoughts an ideas through art. For example, Burris argues it's a myth that people with disabilities aren't interested in current events.
"It's not that they're not interested," says Burris, "It's that they don't communicate about them in the same way as we usually do."

And through art, the larger community can see that people labeled as having disabilities are not so different as many people often perceive them to be. As people with disabilities express themselves through art, the larger
community is able to see the ideas that they share and just how much they have in common with everyone else. And that's why integration is such an important part of the program philosophy behind Minds Wide Open.

When Burris was conducting research to develop a program, he says among the people he interviewed about their willingness to participate in an arts program, not only did the vast majority say they would like an arts program, but with only one exception they wanted it to be integrated
within the larger community.

Currently, there are programs for self-motivated artists that work independently for the most part, while other programs provide one on one attention for artists with moderate to severe disabilities.

The programs are still in a trial phase at this time, but a meeting in June will determine their future, a future that Burris hopes will mean continued funding and more opportunities for community integration.

In the meantime, Burris is quite pleased with the programs now in place and is equally thrilled about the arts center location in Victorian Square, which already houses a number of art galleries as well as the Lexington Children's Museum.

As part of the open house events, there will be an art making workshop with visiting artist Dante Ventresca. The workshop, held from 1-3 PM, is called "It is always there, underneath!" The registration fee is $5.00 and enrollment is limited to 10.

From 6-6:30, the "Capitol House Players" will be performing. This theatre ensemble typically performs plays that are "a series of sketches which deal primarily with issues related to mental health."

A dedication will follow that includes several speakers and a reading by poet Ruthie Maslin.

The highlight of the event will be the art exhibit, which includes a new series of drawings by Dante Ventresca, and a grouping of photographs from the Castlewood group home. These photos document life inside a group
home, and this event marks the first time that they will be shown in Lexington.

Also on display are two sculptures which were created as a tribute by "Connections" participants, dedicated to a fellow participant who had passed away.

The art exhibition, performance, poetry reading, and dedication take place between 5 and 8 PM, which coincides with "Gallery Hop." The new location for the art center is the second floor of Victorian Square, directly across from the Lexington Children's Museum. For more information contact Bruce Burris at 233-0960 or Arc of the Bluegrass, Inc. at 233-1483.