TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Keena Miller
Phone: 512-462-5328, cell: 512-658-4444
Email: [email protected]
FOR RELEASE MAY 22, 2009
BLANTON MUSEUM STUDENT GUILD LENDS HAND TO
MURAL PROJECT FOR TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF
OPENING CELEBRATION TO UNVEIL COLLABORATIVE WORK
Austin, Texas – May 22, 2009 The Texas School for the Deaf (TSD)
proudly unveils a new colorful and inspiring, one-of-a-kind mural that
adorns the hallway of one of the school’s main corridors today at
1:00 pm with an opening reception and wrap party.
The Blanton Museum of Art’s Student Guild organization, along with
local nonprofit, Mural Visions, have worked tirelessly over the past
several months with TSD to create this expansive artwork in the
Special Needs Department (SND) at the school. The theme of the mural
is “growth,” illustrated by brightly colored silhouettes of
children engaging in learning activities and recreation, including
scenes of sign language, bicycling on the South Congress Bridge and
graduation. The aim is to have the TSD pupils walk along the corridor
and be inspired by the actions represented.
Jan Reed-Anderson, principal of the Special Needs program at TSD,
says “as part of our Positive Behavior Support program, we wanted to
create an environment the students would feel proud of, and could be a
part of. With silhouettes portraying the stages of development that
the students in the program will follow until they transition into the
real world, the mural has already proven to be a motivator, instilling
a sense of pride in our students. They point at a silhouette and
think, “that’s me!” It’s just what we wanted to achieve.” Several
students were models for the mural.
WHAT: Mural opening celebration – unveiling a collaboration between
the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) and the Blanton Museum of Art
Student Guild. The event is free of charge and open to the public.
WHERE: Special Needs Department rotunda
Texas School for the Deaf (TSD)
1102 South Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78704
WHEN: 1:00-2:00 pm, Friday, May 22, 2009
MORE: In 2008, Jan Reed-Anderson and Monica Kurtz from TSD sent out a
call to artists for the creation of a mural for their Special Needs
department. Suzanne Moore, the Blanton’s University Programs
Coordinator, saw this as a unique opportunity for the museum’s
Student Guild to serve the community. She, along with Beth Ferguson, a
University of Texas Department of Art and Art History graduate student
in design and the founder of Mural Visions, and Maria Indelicato, a UT
undergraduate in Art History and Volunteer Chair of the Blanton
Student Guild, worked closely with the School’s administrators to
develop design concepts for the project and a strategy for completion.
Along with the volunteers from the Student Guild, the mural was
executed by Texas School for the Deaf students and staff and
volunteers from the community, and was underwritten by Mural Visions
and the Cultural Contracts Division of the City of Austin, Jerry’s
Art-a-Rama, the Texas School for the Deaf, and the University Co-op.
With a strong belief in culture and community at TSD, students form a
unique identity based on their individual strengths and talents,
rather than their disabilities. TSD is an environment where students
learn, grow, and belong. For more information about TSD, visit
www.tsd.state.tx.us.
For more information about the Blanton Museum of Art, visit:
http://blantonmuseum.org. The Student Guild is a University of Texas
registered student organization whose mission is to share the
Blanton’s resources with university students and to serve as
ambassadors in the Austin community. Guild members are UT students
interested in learning about art in a relaxed atmosphere while having
fun. Students from all backgrounds and disciplines are invited to
join.
Mural Visions is an Austin community based mural program that is
sponsored by the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division. The Mural
Visions mission is to create collaborative murals with public schools
using local artists, and volunteers. Started in 2006 as a
collaboration with the Theatre Action Project at the Kealing Jr. High
School, Mural Visions recently partnered with the Blanton Museum of
Art Student Guild on a mural at the Texas School for the Deaf. Photos
from the project may be viewed at: flickr.com/photos/muralvisions/.