(Above: Sean Kelly’s mask, titled Krampus, is among a recent show of masks at the OSLP Gallery; photos by Randi Bjornstad)

By Randi Bjornstad

Some of the masks are macabre, others whimsical or poignant or simply gorgeously crafted. All are the creations of artists who are part of the Oregon Supported Living Program’s Arts & Culture activities, which are designed to include people of all ages and abilities who want to express themselves through art.

Mija Andrade, director of OSLP’s Arts & Culture program

However, because of the “social distancing” efforts in the attempt to limit the transmission of the new coronavirus, Codiv-19, the OSLP gallery at 309 W. Fourth Ave. in Eugene’s Whiteaker neighborhood is closed, at least through March.

Mija Andrade has been director of OSLP’s Arts & Culture division for six years.

“All of our artists work together, because if there’s any way to remove barriers between people, it’s through the arts,” Andrade said. “Arts have been available to people in ‘sheltered’ situations for a long time, but too often they have been isolated from the rest of the community. Our goal is to bring everyone together to make art, because art is not limited by people’s circumstances.”

OSLP has existed for more than 40 years, begun originally as a residential program to help people who once were segregated in institutional settings to live, with support, in their communities. The residential program now has 18 homes scattered throughout the Eugene-Springfield area that provide 24-hour assistance to people who need it. It also provides services to several dozen people who live on their own but need more limited help to maintain their independence, including developing job skills that allow them to be employed successfully.

“OSLP was part of the University of Oregon for 10 years or so, and then it became its own nonprofit, with a separate entity for the residential portion,” Andrade said. “When it comes to the arts program, it doesn’t matter what the person’s situation is. You don’t have to be able to speak or move freely the way other people do, you can still share in the process and create.”

Ann Folsom’s mask, titled “The Politician,” is part of a large show of art masks at the OSLP’s Lincoln Gallery

Andrade credits Gretchen Dubie, OSLP’s executive director, for the foresighted approach to inclusion in the arts.

“She was the one who decided there should be no barriers based on physical or mental status,” Andrade said. “OSLP was one of the first programs to take that approach, and now our program has become a model for many others. But there still are barriers in society, and we work constantly to keep on breaking them down.”

Although visual arts dominate, the OSLP’s Arts & Culture arm also encourages jewelry making, cooking, music, dance, even improv and karaoke.

Part of the OSLP Arts & Culture effort is running two galleries in the studio space at the northwest corner of Fourth and Lincoln streets, where many of the supported artists come to work on their projects. The larger is called The Lincoln Gallery. The smaller is named for Beverly Soasey, a prominent Eugene artist and arts supporter who died in September 2018 of cancer.

Normally, a new show goes up in the Soasey Community Gallery monthly, featuring artists who are not necessarily active in OSLP’s Arts & Culture program, “to help broaden availability in the community and introduce our own participants to new mediums,” Andrade said.

Marcos Rockwell’s digital prints are part of a show in the Beverly Soasey Community Gallery

For example, just before the temporary closure caused by the Codiv-19 outbreak, a new show had just been hung, showing work by OSLP’s organization-wide employees, who number about 200 among the organizations supported-living and other programs.

“Doing the kind of work that OSLP does with its residents requires a lot of creativity and flexibility to find ways of making their lives workable and meaningful, so it’s not too surprising that a lot of the employees are also artistic,” Andrade said. “And we also do a lot of ‘open call’ shows that bring in a lot of varied themes that bring the community and our participants into closer contact.”

One of the most active — and best known — artists in the OSLP’s Arts & Culture community is Perry Johnson, whose work appears in shows regularly at area galleries and standalone art shows such as The New Zone Gallery as well as a recent solo show in the lobby of The Tate condominium building.

Johnson, who recently turned 70 years old, is one of triplets — Jerry, Perry, and Terry — whose mother apparently was turned away from a hospital, possibly because of race, when she was about to give birth to the boys, Andrade said.

“That left Perry and Terry with developmental disabilities because of a lack of oxygen,” she said. “But they both are very artistic and are very active in our programs. And Perry does not consider himself disabled.”

Generally, OSLP’s larger Lincoln Gallery space usually runs its shows for two months, which includes the Obscura mask exhibit. The April exhibit is scheduled to be Object Afterlife Art Challenge, a show of art created from “found objects” and co-sponsored by MECCA — Materials Exchange Center for the Community Arts — in Eugene.

The Arts & Culture program also frequently has shows in other public spaces, including the Eugene Airport, Willamalane Parks and Recreation District, and the Lane County Courthouse.

For information about the OSLP Arts & Culture program and its classes and shows, go online to artsandcultureeugene.org.

Artist Perry Johnson poses with a recent portrait of Curly, one of the original Three Stooges, whose physical comedy Johnson particularly enjoys; Johnson is one of the most prolific and best-known artists in the Oregon Supported Living Program’s Arts & Culture division (photo by Randi Bjornstad)

 

 

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