Massachusetts General Hospital To Host MDA/ALS Art Exhibit

TUCSON, Ariz., May 30, 2002 – Fifteen works of art from the nationally renowned Muscular Dystrophy Association Art Collection will be on display at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in June.

Called "Transcending Barriers to Creativity," the exhibit features works created by artists with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease). ALS progressively destroys motor neurons, resulting in the weakening and paralysis of voluntary muscles.

The exhibit is co-hosted by the hospital's MDA/ALS Center, one of 25 such centers across the country.

Those who attend the opening reception, to be held from 5 to 7 p.m. June 6 at the hospital's Center for Aging, Genetics and Neurodegeneration, will have the opportunity to meet Rockport, Mass., artist Fred Siwak. The center is located in Building 114, 16th St., Charlestown Navy Yard.

The exhibit will feature Siwak's linoleum block print "Dragonflies," and Siwak will display other original prints and cards at the opening gala. Siwak, who received a diagnosis of ALS in 1998, uses a universal cuff eating strap with a special pocket added to hold his carving tool, in order to create his artwork.

Following the reception, the exhibit will be on display from June 7 through June 21 at the hospital's Wang Ambulatory Care Center, 15 Parkman St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The exhibit opened at the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Center at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center to coincide with ALS Awareness Month in May. It's anticipated that the show will appear in at least three other MDA/ALS Centers this summer.

"We're honored to have our MDA/ALS Center at Massachusetts General Hospital co-host this remarkable exhibit in Boston," MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. "The art created by these talented people, despite the devastating effects of ALS, is a powerful testament to their strength and creative spirits."

The Collection's permanent home is at MDA's national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz. Samples of the Collection are also on display at www.mda.org/commprog/art. The Collection, marking its 10th anniversary this year, 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 280 works by artists aged 2 to 82, and represents all 50 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; JFK Center at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; Blackhawk Museum, Danville, Calif.; Fresno Metropolitan Museum; Duluth Art Institute; Capital 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 four clinics in Boston for adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases.

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

Contact:
  Georgia Peirce
    Massachusetts General Hospital
    (617) 724-6423
    gpeirce@partners.org

    Media Reservations for Reception
    (617) 726-2206