BATAVIA/Independent Living & University Heights Arts Association Announces New Exhibition Series by Artist with Disabilities in the Genesee Area

THE Exhibition of ARTiculations capabilities – a forum for artists with disabilities from Genesee, Wyoming and Orleans counties to publicly exhibit their work – will reopen with a new artist at Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) in their office at 319 West Main Street at Crickler Executive Business Center in Batavia on Thursday July 1, 2024. Titled “Art Unspoken”, it presents the work of Megan Benzée.

She says: “I am an artist suffering from a genetic disease. I love sharing artwork with the world. I want to make everyone’s life full of color and meaning. I hope to create pieces that will hold a place in someone’s heart.

A reception with light refreshments will be held for the artist at the ILGR office from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, July 8.^th. A partnership between ILGR and the University Heights Arts Association (UHAA), the exhibition will be on display until September 30, 2024.

Background

Megan’s adoptive parents first met her when she was 10 weeks old in Guatemala; she returned with them to Wyoming County at 5 months old and is now an 18 year old US citizen. His family had to take him to Philadelphia to see specialists about his rare and incurable genetic disease, but horseback riding, using a retired therapy horse kept in a neighbor’s stable, allowed him to to function without his electric wheelchair on occasion. When confined at home, she expresses herself through her art and although self-taught, she credits her incredible teacher Diane Campbell for encouraging her since sixth grade and recently won the Iroquois Superintendent’s Award at district level.

An admirer of the late Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo and similar artists, she enjoys making portraits of pets, particularly eyes, often drawing with her bird Claude on her shoulder and her cat Esther on her lap.

An invitation

Other artists with disabilities residing in the Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming County areas are encouraged to submit their work to this juried competition, as additional quarterly ARTiculations exhibitions will be planned in the future.

For questions about the event, please call Catherine DeMare at (585) 815-8501, ext. 400.

Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) is a member of the Western New York Independent Living, Inc. family of agencies that offers a growing range of services to help people with disabilities take control of their own lives.

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