SMEDA, in partnership with the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, is sponsoring an art exhibit to bring attention to eating disorders as part of the February, 2010 Kalamazoo Art Hop.  The exhibit will be at the Epic Center in downtown Kalamazoo, and will be on display beginning with the Art Hop on February 5, 2010, and continuing through National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 21-27, 2010) and the March Art Hop on March 5, 2010.  (Depending on the number of submissions, we plan to rotate artwork to allow works by more artists to be displayed.)   The theme for the exhibit is

Living with an Eating Disorder.

Any individual who is now or has been struggling with an eating disorder may submit their work for possible display at the exhibit.  Artists must submit their work through the ED professional (clinician, therapist, or dietitian) that is/was working with them on their eating disorder.

The work will be presented anonymously unless the artist specifies otherwise in writing. If the artist does not wish to be identified as “Anonymous”, the artist must provide a pseudonym or alias that she/he wishes to be recognized by.

The work must be about the theme of the exhibit. However, it can express/tell about past, present, or anticipated future experiences in living with an eating disorder.

A parent/guardian release will be required for artists under 18 years of age to exhibit their work and name.

The artist must provide a title and artist statement for each piece that provides the viewing audience with information on whether this work represents past, present, or anticipated future experiences and which eating disorder the artist is representing. The text must be less than 100 words.

The deadline for submission of art work for the initial exhibit has passed, However, we can still accept art work to add to the exhibit during the month.  All art work must be submitted with the required paperwork and artist’s statement.  Please contact your ED professional, or Vinay Reddy (reddy at kcms dot msu dot edu) for details on how to submit your work.

This is a no-sale exhibit.  The intent is to inform and educate the public through a visual experience with such work as sculpture, paintings, sketches, photography, and poetry.  Poetry may be selected for informational posters and flyers for the exhibit.  The exhibit will be set up for the February Art Hop and stay up for about two months.  Works will be returned to their artists after the exhibit, through the ED professionals through whom each artist submitted work.  While great care will be taken to preserve and exhibit in the most professional manner possible, SMEDA and its representatives are not responsible for lost or damaged work and the final exhibit display will be at the sole discretion of the exhibit coordinators.

For more information, please talk to your ED professional, or contact Vinay Reddy, President of SMEDA, by E-mail (reddy at kcms dot msu dot edu).