Integrated Arts In Berkeley
By Frances Valesco

On a sunny day in Oakland, a woman painted a picture using her foot to hold the brush, while a friend held her tile. Another woman held a brush in her mouth, and a man who is blind painted by feel. Another day, at the Oakland Main Library, a young boy with Cerebral Palsy and his parents were working together on a painting of his bike, and long-time activists were making handprints to show their identity. Then each painter made his or her way to the audio recorder, so their stories could be shown both visually and verbally. The power of art and community building was clear at the Integrated Arts' workshops to create the Disability Mural.

Frances Valesco and Osha Neumann, co-directors of the Disability Mural, say they've found it a perfect way to focus their community art experience and to honor the strength, beauty and courage of people with disabilities and their struggles against prejudice and discrimination. Says Neumann, "Each person tells his or her story and then it becomes a part of a mosaic, a bigger picture. Just being able to be exactly who you are and to have that linked to this larger whole, is very validating for people."

The Disability Mural project started in March 2000, when Jen Sermoneta, Director of Integrated Arts, realized the need to "celebrate the many individuals whose voices and experiences were so vital to the changes that have been part of the ADA and the disabilities civil rights movement." She suggested the mural as a way of creating a forum for people to talk about their lives, so that the public could recognize and remember experiences and efforts, and community leaders like Sharon Bonney and Joni Breves rallied to help make it a reality. Now, participants have painted and collaged nearly 600 square feet of tiles, and recorded more than a hundred sound pieces, in which people tell their stories and convey a deeper sense of their artistic intentions than the images alone. It also makes the Mural more accessible for people who are blind or have low vision.

Valesco and Neumann speak of how the mural has provided people with a sense of participation in a community, and it has been a source of pride. People don't have to have a disability to create a tile for the mural, but they do need to be interested in disability and the arts, and to believe in the importance of integrating people with and without disabilities. "It's a perfect expression of the goals of Integrated Arts," says Sermoneta.

Osha Neumann pointed out, "Access is one of the key words in the struggle of people with disabilities. Just as aisles in stores are too narrow for wheelchairs, or elevators in BART stations don't work, there are obstacles in art. There are obstacles to participation in the world of art and expression. Integrated Arts has dedicated itself to providing a space and opportunities for people of all sorts of abilities to make art and express themselves."

The mural is being displayed at various locations before its permanent installation at the Ed Roberts Campus (ERC), a global center for disability organizations, scheduled to be built in 2004 at the Ashby BART Station in Berkeley, California.

The current exhibition is at Oakland City Hall from May 7-June 8. On May 12, Iarts hosted a workshop at Precita Park in San Francisco, as part of the Mural Awareness Month Celebration.

Contact Integrated Arts for more information about the mural and other programs at 933 Parker St., #45, Berkeley, CA 94710, ph: 510-841-1466, f: 510-841-1631, email iarts@integratedarts.org Check out our website at www.integratedarts.org for more information.