NAEAnews. “SPECIAL NEEDS,” April, 2004, Vol. 46 (2) p.19.

A display of student's art is not unusual for art educators, but is a special occurrence at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) annual convention. Art educators at NAEA's annual conventions are surrounded by artwork, visual presentations, and a football field-sized commercial exhibit filled with art materials and methods. In contrast, the commercial exhibits at CEC focus on academic diagnosis and remediation, classroom management texts, and adaptive equipment. Visual art displays are usually limited to commercial art used to sell educational products. There is a noticeable lack of the visual art displays from schools or districts. Binney & Smith are missing, so no reception and no Dreammaker's show of student artwork.

The Helen Keller International Art Show is the visual highlight of the annual CEC convention. This art show is unusual for a number of reasons. First, it is international in scope. Second, the students' artwork travels to Washington, DC where it is hung in the National Cathedral (more on this below) and in congressional offices. And third, the artists are all legally blind and/or deaf/blind.

Briefly described in a previous column about CEC's arts related presentations, here is more about the show and the organization that runs it. The Helen Keller International Art Show is sponsored by CEC's Division on Vision Impairments (DVI) and provides an opportunity for special educators to see that art can reach all of our students. What began as a special project by the Alabama State chapter of the DVI, became a national, then international art show for artists who are visually impaired blind or deaf blind. Roseanna Davidson, then President of DVI, saw the art show when it was in Alabama and suggested that it be brought to CEC for special educators to see.

The thirty artworks selected for the show each year include paintings, collage, pastel drawing, sculpture and photographs. The pieces demonstrate both talent and a wide range of interest for others to see. All artists whose work is submitted receive a certificate of participation. Artists whose work is selected for the show receive both an artist certificate and a show catalog. Additional recognition comes to the artists through press releases to local newspapers and to their congressional representatives.

Volunteers professionally frame all of the artwork in what seems to be a labor of love. Each February, a group gathers to frame the art that will go to CEC. Chris Tant (of the Framin Shoppe in Hoover, Alabama), Rachel Sanspree, and Carol Allison, respectively coordinator and chair of the Helen Keller International Art Show, and other volunteers assemble the frames. The framing materials come from frames left over when work is reframed, and from miscut or misframed mat and frame pieces that are saved throughout the year. The framing adds a professional touch to the artwork, all of which is offered for sale at CEC. Profits from the sale cover the crating and shipping costs of the show. These costs can be considerable because the art pieces travel from Alabama to the CEC conference site, to Washington, and then to the purchaser. When the show leaves the CEC convention, it travels to the National Cathedral in Washington, DC and to the offices of the artists' state representatives. The National Cathedral is a fitting stop because the ashes of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, are placed there.

Each year, teachers and administrators who work with children or adults with visual impairments are encouraged to submit artwork by people with vision impairments to the Helen Keller International Art Show Committee. The application form can be obtained on-line www.pathfindersofal.org. More information can be obtained from Rachel Sanspree, UAB Vision Science Research Center, Worrell Building #110C, 924 South 18th Street, Birmingham, Alabama 35294 or e-mail Rsanspree@aol,com..

The Helen Keller International Art Show demonstrates the value of the visual arts for people, even when their vision is affected. Stuart H. Wittenstein, Superintendent of the California School for the Blind and Past President of CEC's Division on Visual Impairment, shared information about a photography program at his school. When a student of photography visited the school for a project assignment, students at the school were very interested in what he was doing and requested cameras so they could take photos. The students were asked why they wanted to take photographs, since many of them would not be able to see what they had photographed. They responded that they could give them to family and friends and show people and places that were meaningful to them. With some camera use training and auditory cues, the students photographed friends and sites around the school, and provided a lesson for us all.

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