Vision Thru Art Exhibition

May 19 – June 16, 2023
Opening Reception: Friday, May 19, 12:30 – 2:30 pm

Allens Lane Art Center is thrilled to present the Vision Thru Art Annual Exhibition. The work on view in this exhibition showcases artists participating in our Vision Thru Art program. Since 1988, Allens Lane Art Center has hosted Vision Thru Art (VTA), a weekly sculpture class designed specifically for people experiencing blindness and visual impairment. This year the exhibiting VTA artists include Lavera Diggins, Shirley Brotman, Helene Mizrachi, Ron Bryant, Betsy Clayton, Sue Flem, Dana Korber, Christine Grasso, Robert Sulkin, and Christine Grasso.

There are two sessions of the class that meet once a week and are led by instructors Janice Strawder and Zipora Schulz, with the help of many wonderful volunteers. The participants learn how to express their inner vision through a variety of media including clay, wood, mosaic, stone, and mixed media. Students are encouraged to experiment with a variety of tools and techniques in a relaxed and social setting. Many of the participating artists have been part of the program for several decades and have built a strong and thriving community.

The strengths of the people who come to the Vision Thru Art classes include the vast experience many of them hold, in terms of creating art for many years (in some cases, decades), and the community and friendships they have formed with each other. VTA has traversed locations and instructors, initially hosted at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and now on-site at Allens Lane Art Center where it has been for over 30 years.

Vision Thru Art is a truly unique program, which fills a niche and community in the participants’ lives. Being able to manage the various levels of arts experience in the classroom–some beginners, some pursuing major independent projects–is important to the program and unusual in arts education, as courses are typically divided by level of experience. By uniting our VTA participants in one setting and course, we open the doors to not just creating an artistic community, but also a social community.