(Please note: that this was first published on Noozhawk.com on 9/23/15 under the title: “SlingShot Gallery Artists to Show Work at UCSB’s College of Creative Studies.”)
Founded in the 1950s by family members, who rallied to provide educational opportunities for their developmentally disabled children, Alpha Resource Center is a nonprofit multi-service organization that provides support and services to families with developmentally disabled children, adolescents and adults.
An expansion of Alpha Resource Center’s art studio program, SlingShot Art Studio and Gallery, promotes artists with intellectual disabilities. The name SlingShot was coined by one of their artists, who said that they were “slinging” themselves out in the world without knowing exactly where they would land.
The artists are recognized and appreciated for their individual talents, and their work is exhibited in the SlingShot Gallery, as well as in juried art shows.
Their most current show is at The College of Creative Studies Gallery at UCSB. The exhibition runs from Sept. 14 through Oct. 10, 2015.
According to CSS’s curator Dan Connally, this “work is by turns beautiful, formally inventive and compelling in narrative. It surprises and delights and offers deep satisfactions to anyone interested in art as an artifact of human feeling and identity.”
A reception for the public will be held Wednesday, Oct. 7 from 5–7 p.m. For further information, please visit www.alphasb.org/events.
Although these talented artists continue to have their work snatched up by collectors, their folk and contemporary art pieces are reasonably priced. Their work will not only be on exhibit at the current show at UCSB’s College of Creative Studies Gallery but also can be viewed throughout the year at the SlingShot Art Studio and Gallery (located at 220 West Canon Perdido, Santa Barbara, CA 93101).
SlingShot Art Studio and Gallery is open from Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. or by appointment. During the gallery’s open hours, working artists are available to meet with visitors and discuss their work.
The gallery also participates in Santa Barbara’s first Thursdays, when the public can enjoy the artist’s frequently changing display of paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and cards, as well as purchase available pieces for sale.
SlingShot Art Studio and Gallery is proud to support these highly creative artists and is honored to connect them with Santa Barbara’s vibrant art community.
For further information, follow SlingShot Art Studio and Gallery’s Facebook page: facebook.com/slingshotartforum, visit their website www.alphasb.org, call 805.770.3878, or contact artist representative and community liaison Sue Dumm at sdumm@alphasb.org.
Tracy Shawn lives and writes on the Central Coast of California. Shawn’s writing has appeared in literary journals as well as print and online newspapers and magazines. Her award-winning debut novel “The Grace of Crows” is available on major online bookstores.
