Special artists, special talents
Published 3:39 pm Monday, October 4, 2010
Meagan Vucovich, project coordinator, places “Pretty Birds” by Vito Robbins of Mobile, in the VSA Alabama Traveling Exhibit 2010. VSA Alabama is the state organization on arts and disability. The exhibit will be open until Nov. 1 at the Larry D. Striplin Jr. Performing Arts Center. -- Laura Fenton photo
The paintings of Vito Robbins are always a colorful addition to the traveling art exhibit.
“Everyone loves his art,” said Meagan Vucovich, project coordinator. “It’s always really fun, colorful bright stuff.”
Robbins participated with the VSA Alabama Traveling Exhibit for several years and his painting “Pretty Birds” is featured in the exhibit this year.
The VSA Alabama Traveling Exhibit 2010 will be at the Larry D. Striplin Jr. Performing Arts Center beginning Monday and will remain there until Nov. 1.
It features 25 paintings by children and 26 paintings by adults with physical or mental disabilities.
Robbins is a member of the Mobile Arc Inc., a community-based advocacy program for people with disabilities.
Beside each painting is a description of the artist.
“Some of these stories people read and it really touches home because they might have a child with cerebral palsy,” Vucovich said. “They see there are other people out there like their family members or even like themselves.”
All pieces by the adults are available for purchase, but because Selma is the last exhibit before the show moves to its final display at the Capitol building in Montgomery, only 15 of the pieces are still for sale.
Profits for the paintings go to the artist and to VSA Alabama to fund future projects for the state.
Pieces are from the CreativeFest exhibit by children and the Creativity: Art In the Magic City by adults with disabilities. More than 200 pictures displayed in the exhibits.
No artists in the show this year are from Dallas County, which is why Vucovich brought the exhibit here.
“The reason why I wanted to bring it there because I wanted to encourage artists in Dallas County to participate,” Vucovich said.
She will accept submissions for the upcoming exhibit in November or December. Applications and information pertaining to the event are available at vsaalabama.org.
VSA Alabama is the state organization on arts and disability. The project has been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council of the Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts. VSA Alabama is a member of the international network of the USA, an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
