A man in a brown plaid shirt smiles while holding a colorful drawing of a person in a stadium, with colored pencils on the table.

Marvin with his art

Defying Limits Through Arts

May 2024

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A man standing in front of a colorful, abstract artwork featuring three figures.

Marvin with “Husband, Wife, and Grandmother”

French artist Henri Matisse once said that creativity takes courage. And we’re amazed at the courage our talented artists have demonstrated lately. Artwork created by members from our Rose Center was recently on display at Expo Chicago, which showcases leading contemporary and modern art galleries, public art initiatives and more. Members were commissioned by artist Anke Loh to dye textiles, which were later used in pillows with touch-sensitive embroidery.

And a few weeks later, member Marvin from our Morgan Park Center was selected to compete in the Beverly Arts Center’s 47th annual juried art competition and exhibition. With help from our art director, Whitney Rosier, Marvin submitted his application and proudly showed his chosen drawing “Husband, Wife, and Grandmother” to guests at the exhibition. 

A person holds a frame with a colorful drawing of a smiling figure wearing a blue cap and glasses, with 'WRIGLEY FIELD' on their shirt.

“To witness the public interacting with the Rose Center artists’ textiles at one of the largest art fairs in the world … was one of my proudest moments,” Rosier said. “And it was fabulous seeing Marvin socializing and talking about his art with other artists and patrons at the opening of the exhibit. I hope to see more artists with disabilities showing their work alongside non-disabled artists.”

Our Ravenswood Mental Health Center also hosted an art show to kick off Mental Health Month last month. The event featured work from more than a dozen of our artists, and many items were sold to the public. Check out some of the pieces here.