CATA presents “truth, forest, mouse” – Reading and Exhibit at Lenox Library

CATA presents “truth, forest, mouse” – Reading and Exhibit at Lenox Library

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb 1, 2023
Contact: Chris Watford, Communications Director
[email protected] / (413) 528-5485
Images available here

CATA AND LENOX LIBRARY PRESENT “TRUTH, FOREST, MOUSE,” A READING OF WORK BY WRITERS WITH DISABILITIES ON FEBRUARY 15

LENOX, MA—Community Access to the Arts (CATA) and the Lenox Library present “truth, forest, mouse,” a dynamic reading celebrating the work of writers with disabilities on February 15 at 5pm. A free reception will follow the reading where you can meet and celebrate CATA writers and artists. An accompanying exhibit of paintings and drawings by CATA artists will also be on display in the library’s Welles Gallery through March 15.

The event takes place February 15 at 5pm at the Lenox Library, located at 18 Main Street, Lenox, MA. Reservations are required for this free event. Register online at CATAarts.org/reading2023 or by contacting CATA at (413) 528-5485 or by email at [email protected].

The event will feature guest readers in an exciting program of poignant, humorous, and heartfelt writing created in the CATA Writers’ Workshop—a weekly class where writers with disabilities hone their craft and express their perspectives. In conjunction with the reading, an exhibit of paintings, drawings, and collages by CATA artists with disabilities will be on display in the library’s Welles Gallery through March 15, 2023. All works in the exhibit are professionally matted, framed, and available for sale, with proceeds supporting commissions for the individual artists.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the Lenox Library to share the powerful work of CATA writers,” says CATA Executive Director Margaret Keller. “CATA writers tap into their individual style and express their creative voices each week in our workshops. By sharing their work in this dynamic program, we get to spotlight their talent –and our community gets the chance to see the world from their perspective.”

Since 2005, writers with disabilities have explored creative and expressive writing forms through CATA’s weekly Writers’ Workshop, developing their talents in poetry, haiku, autobiography, and short stories. CATA faculty artist Janet Reich Elsbach— a talented local writer as well as a gifted teacher— leads the workshops with an inventive curriculum that helps each CATA writer develop their individual style. Some CATA writers work with “scribes” to help them put their ideas on paper.

CATA’s reading and exhibit at the Lenox Library is made possible by Canyon Ranch, Frames on Wheels, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and other generous supporters.

About Community Access to the Arts: Community Access to the Arts (CATA) nurtures and celebrates the creativity of people with disabilities. Through dynamic arts workshops and public events, CATA artists tap into their potential, explore new talents, and share their unique points of view with the wider community. CATA collaborates with 50 partner organizations to bring visual and performing arts programs to 800 people with disabilities across Berkshire County, Massachusetts and Columbia County, New York. Learn more at CATAarts.org.

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