PAINTING BY AURORA ARTIST ACCEPTED BY MDA ART COLLECTION

TUCSON, Ariz., September 11, 2001 - A painting by Jennifer Getson of Aurora, Colo., has been accepted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Art Collection. The Collection features artwork by people from across the country with neuromuscular diseases.

"Northern Lights" by Jennifer Getson

Getson's "Northern Lights" is an oil painting which recalls her childhood memories of the nighttime northern lights of Minnesota, as they illuminate the tops of trees — lightly dusted with moonlight — in the forest below.

Getson, 35, is affected by Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease(CMT), a genetic disorder that results in weakness and loss of muscle bulk, as well as significant mobility problems.

Getson has been creating art since childhood, working in a variety of media. Her artwork has been widely displayed over the past 15 years. She has also taught the concepts, history and theory of art at the Longmont Academy in Longmont, Colo.

A one-woman show of her artwork was held through August at Chez Artiste Theatre in Denver.

"We're honored to have such a stunning painting by Jennifer Getson in the permanent MDA Art Collection," said MDA Senior Vice President and Executive Director Robert Ross. "Her contribution to our Collection will undoubtedly delight all who see it as it travels to galleries and museums as part of special exhibits of the Collection."

The new addition by Getson will be exhibited at MDA's national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., and will be included in MDA Art Collection traveling exhibits. The Collection was established in 1992 to focus attention on the achievements of artists with disabilities, and to emphasize that physical disability is no barrier to creativity.

The permanent Collection currently comprises more than 260 works by artists ages 2 to 82 and represents 48 states. Each artist is affected by one of the neuromuscular diseases in the MDA program.

Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art; Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center and Forbes Magazine Galleries in New York; Tucson Museum of Art; Bishop Museum in Honolulu; Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art; Los Angeles Children's Museum; University of California-Berkeley and Fresno Metropolitan Museum; Duluth Art Institute; Capitol Children's Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains clinics for area adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases at the Children's Hospital and at the University of Colorado's Health Science Center in Denver.

The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.