From top: Shmuel Taurog, Untitled, Colored Pencil on Paper, 2008; Susan Brown, West Sayville Marina, Acrylic and Marker on Canvas, 2009; Walter Mika, Untitled Figure, Oil Pastel on Canvas, 2008

Pure Vision Promotes Artists

Nurturing self-expression is what Pure Vision Arts, an initiative of the Shield Institute, is all about. The program, an affiliate of the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, a beneficiary agency of UJA-Federation, each year engages the artistic talent of hundreds of artists with a variety of developmental disabilities.

“The population we work with has been marginalized. We want to integrate them into society,” says Pamala Rogers, the director of Pure Vision. The program was founded in 2002, and its artists, whose ages range from 21 into their 70s, work in Pure Vision’s studio space in Chelsea. Pure Vision represents its artists and has built relationships with galleries in New York, around the country, and throughout Europe. The artists are considered “self-taught” and have become sought after in outsider art events in New York, in the Hamptons, and in Europe. ♦

 

Winning Combination is an innovative program that allows Israeli young adults with physical and other disabilities to serve as volunteers in the Israel Defense Forces. It is a project of Ashalim, supported by UJA-Federation’s Caring Commission. The program prepares young adults with special needs for the army a year before their service. Volunteers receive training in coping with the transition to the army and survival outdoors, as well as participate in meetings with army personnel. Volunteers serve a shorter term than soldiers, and do not carry weapons or serve in combat units.

 

Many UJA-Federation beneficiary agencies, often with support from the J.E. and Z.B Butler Foundation offer services for those with special needs. Agencies such as F•E•G•S Health and Human Services System, Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, Samuel Field Y, and Westchester Jewish Community Services provide extensive programs for individuals with physical, developmental, and learning disabilities.

Learn more about services available through network agencies in our People With Disabilities Task Force 2009 Resource Directory.

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