About Brian Ayers and the History of the Exhibition
The roots of the Brian Ayers Memorial Art Exhibition go back to a day in 1988 when a 14-year old boy named Jason, who had severe dyslexia, became so frustrated about his school situation that he picked up a chair and threw it across the school library.
Jason was a talented artist, so Avery County Schools, a rural school district in the mountains of North Carolina, hired a local art therapist to work one-on-one with Jason twice each week. Despite having severe problems with reading and spelling, Jason successfully completed high school, developing his artistic skills along the way. He received a degree in commercial art from a local community college.
Brian Ayers was the other dyslexic student to receive one-on-one art instruction, but Brian's story was not as successful. Although Brian produced some beautiful artwork during the one-on-one sessions, his difficulty with reading and extreme problems with spelling continued, and Brian dropped out of high school. When Brian's grandfather and caretaker Semie Mosely, the maker of the Mosrite electric guitar, moved his factory to Arkansas, Brian's life became unmoored. Brian died at the age of 19 in 1994 as a result of an accidental alcohol overdose.
The first Brian Ayers Memorial Art Exhibition was sponsored by Appalachian State University's summer arts program, An Appalachian Summer, in 1994. After a four-year hiatus, Boone Mall offered to host the exhibitions. We started our silent auction in 2001 and became an international exhibition in 2003.
The 2006 exhibition displayed 104 works by children with learning disabilities and dyslexia representing twelve U.S. states, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, Korea, England, and Oman. The 2006 artists received a total of $4415 for the sale of their artwork.
The exhibition took a hiatus in 2007, but will resume in 2008 with an entirely new format. As our new sponsor, Boone Mall provides the funds for the artists whose works show special artistic merit. We'll show the twenty-five $50 winning pictures and up to ten $25 winning pictures by artists from the Boone area from June 2 - June 15, 2008 at Boone Mall. Rosa Dargan serves as our juror.
Appalachian State University's Turchin Center for the Visual Arts will display these and other entries from July 11 to October 4, 2008. We'll hold a silent auction at both venues for artists who choose to offer their artwork for sale. We'll also show the artwork at the Mazie Jones Art Gallery in the Jones House Community Center in downtown Boone from November 28 to December 22, 2008.
The consistently outstanding quality of the artwork on display at The Brian Ayers Memorial Art Exhibition demonstrates the unusual artistic ability of children with learning disabilities and dyslexia from all over the world. These are young people well deserving of celebration.
If you know a talented young learning disabled or dyslexic artist, age 10 - 25, please encourage him or her to enter this unique exhibition. See the "Entry Form" link for details about the exhibition. The exhibition is also open to children with autism.
Saul Chase, Curator
The Brian Ayers Memorial Art Exhibition
E-mail
|
