Summer Symbiosis
2024-07-22 - 2024-08-18 | Heidi Gallery at JSDD, 310 Eisenhower Parkway, Livingston, NJ, 07039, United States
Symbiosis is a mutually beneficial relationship between different groups or individuals. It’s a special type of bond that helps both groups grow and thrive together and in their own ways.
The Matheny Arts Access Program, part of Matheny Medical & Educational Center, is a fine arts program that empowers individuals with disabilities to create art without boundaries in the visual, performing, and literary arts in Peapack, NJ. The WAE Center at JSDD is a holistic, creative, and expressive arts learning center in Livingston, NJ, for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Each program is dedicated to enabling people with disabilities to produce fine art through innovative systems and techniques.

Summer Symbiosis is a collaborative exhibit featuring these two organizations, fifty artists, and innumerable possibilities. It celebrates the artists of both organizations as well as the long-established relationship between them. Marilynn Schneider, a current member of the Heidi Gallery Advisory Committee and a longtime WAE Center Director speaks to the power of such a collaboration:

Through many years the relationship between Matheny Arts Access and the WAE Center at JSDD has transformed the lives of all our members. This exhibit has brought the two organizations and their many artists together annually to share pride, anticipation, and connection. The two professional teams have worked hard and seen the reward of artists who see and hear kindred spirits: sharing ideas, inspirations, and their life stories. This growing connection between artists impacted families, friends, and caregivers, enriching the lives of all who have come to participate and observe this event.

Please join the artists for an opening reception on Sunday, July 28 from 2 – 4 pm.
