The JCC will hose the ACHaD and TOPS art gallery reception and ACHaD Resource Fair during the month of February.
February is Jewish Disabilities, Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month and the ACHaD special needs department of the Katz JCC will host two events, an art gallery reception and the community resource fair.
The Appel Art Gallery at the Katz JCC showcases stunning, eye-catching artwork of various styles and mediums and each year, the January/February exhibit features original artwork by members of the Katz JCC ACHaD and Samost TOPS Program of JFCS’s Special Needs Department, created over the course of several months. This year’s ACHaD and TOPS gallery reception will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
In the ACHaD All About Art class, participants explored art revolving around color and its different forms and styles. Various mediums and colors are found in every piece of art, creating a vibrant, creative and unique art pieces. This year’s projects that will be on display from the ACHaD participants were inspired by various color techniques and styles from numerous famous artists. A few of the many artists include George Seurat, who has inspired the ACHaD artists to use distinct dots of color to form a pattern, which in turn forms an image. They also created three-dimensional works influenced by Frank Stella using different objects and textures to create geometric inspired pieces.
In the JFCS TOPS program, participants experienced diverse modalities in the mini-courses this year, as exemplified by their scrap wood sculptures. In conjunction with the Soups and Sweets program, their clay work expanded to large, textured serving platters which will be on display. Some of the projects celebrate a particular holiday, such as their jazz compositions and African masks for Black History Month and earthy Mexican Bark paintings for Cinco de Mayo. Traditional ink and acrylic pieces will also be displayed.
Artwork will be on display through the end of February, and an art gallery reception will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in which the artists will share their artwork and talk about their creations.
The ACHaD Resource Fair will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. The fair, held in the Katz JCC Social Hall, is free and open to the community and will give individuals with special needs and their families an opportunity to meet representatives from South Jersey special needs programs, organizations and services for all ages. Organizations attending the resource fair include camps, sports and fitness programs, social and recreational programs, therapeutic services, disability resources, transition and life skills and much more.
“The resource fair is a wonderful way for us to bring together a variety of individuals and organizations dedicated to providing the best for the special needs community in South Jersey,” said Eileen Elias, ACHaD director. “Come gain new knowledge and register for classes and programs all in one location.”
The ACHaD Resource Fair is held in partnership with JFCS and Jewish Abilities Alliance, and is sponsored by Virtua Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy. For more information or to learn more about becoming a vendor, please visit katzjcc.org/achad-events or contact Nina Staiman at nstaiman@jfedsnj.org or call (856) 424–4444 ext. 1204.
