Norman gallery reaches out to disabled artists
BY JENNIFER GRISWOLD
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Published: November 12, 2009
NORMAN — A new art gallery space has opened in a downtown retail store that features local artists both with and without disabilities.
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Art Tour
Norman Art Council’s Second Friday Circuit of Art is from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday at galleries throughout Norman. Re-Run Art Gallery will be one of the featured stops on the circuit. People can park, then get on the trolley at Republic Bank &Trust, Main Street and University Boulevard. Cost is 50 cents per ride or $2 for an evening pass. Riders can get on or off at any of the stops on the route. For more information, go to www.normangallery
association.com.
Re-Run Art Gallery opened last month inside Re-Run Junction Thrift Store, a nonprofit store run and maintained by developmentally disabled adults.
The store, at 325 E Comanche St., offers vocational training to its clients, teaching them skills needed to get a job.
There are 14 developmentally disabled adults who work in the Norman store, and it was their idea to start the gallery, said
Joseph Bonnell, store supervisor.
The workers organized the whole thing, calling artists to ask whether they would like to be part of the project.
When a piece sells, the artist receives 75 percent of the money, and 25 percent goes to the agency to fund vocational services for its clients, Bonnell said.
All the artists called were very receptive to the idea, said Lisa Eubanks, a store worker.
"We wanted a way to reach out to the community and show them what we do,” she said.
The gallery has been a great way to do that, she said. They accept all kinds of art from paintings to jewelry.
There are 13 local artists who are currently displaying work in the gallery.
Artist
Barbara Shove has some of her oil paintings there. When one of the clients called her asking if she’d like to display some work, it was hard to pass up the opportunity.
"It’s just a really neat idea, and it brings attention to the store and the work that the clients do,” she said.
Sharon K. Sharp, who works at the store, also displays some of her art in the gallery. "I like painting,” she said. "It gives me time to be myself.”
Big Five Community Services Inc. operates the Norman thrift store, which opened in February. The agency has stores in several
Oklahoma communities.
Donations of clothing and household items are accepted at the stores. The items are sold, and the money made is used to pay employees and run the program.
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