UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
TO HOST MDA ART EXHIBIT

TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 4, 2004 — The University of Pittsburgh will display 25 selected works of art from the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Art Collection.

The Pitt Program Council, which coordinates student activities for the university, is hosting the exhibit. Transcending Barriers: Selections from the MDA Art Collection begins Feb. 9 and runs through Feb. 28.

The Collection features artwork by children and adults across the country who challenge the obstacles imposed by neuromuscular diseases. The exhibit will feature four pieces created by young artists and 21 works by adults. The works include traditional oils, acrylics, watercolors and photographs, as well as unusual artistic media such as finger-paints, woodblock prints and computer-generated art.

The University of Pittsburgh was founded in 1787 as a small, private school by the name of the Pittsburgh Academy. Beginning in a log cabin near Pittsburgh’s three rivers, the University has evolved into an internationally recognized center of learning and research. The MDA Art Collection exhibit will be held at the C.M. Kimbo Art Gallery in the William Pitt Student Union at 3959 5th Ave. The exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

For directions or more information, call (412) 648-7900.

“It’s a great honor to have a portion of our Collection on display at the University of Pittsburgh,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. “We’re inspired by the talented children and adults who have contributed to the Collection and delighted to share their remarkable works with the people of Pittsburgh.”

The Collection’s permanent home is MDA’s national headquarters in Tucson. Samples of the Collection can also be seen at www.mda.org/commprog/art. 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 Collection currently comprises more than 300 works by artists aged 2 to 82 and represents all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Each artist is affected by one of the neuromuscular diseases in the MDA program.

Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Art Museum of Western Virginia in Roanoke; 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.; Fresno Metropolitan Museum; Duluth Art Institute; Capital Children’s Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich.

MDA is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. The Association also provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education. MDA serves Pittsburgh-area adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases through its clinics at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Lee Hospital in Johnstown, Pa.

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