ADS Art Fair 2012

MAB held an Art Fair Feb. 11th to provide art to furnish the residences operated by its Adult Disability Services program. Community neighbors donated art from their attics for the art fair, where the residents had the opportunity to select for themselves pieces to decorate the common spaces in their homes.

MAB has 15 four- or five-bedroom residences located in neighborhoods throughout the Greater Boston area, all handicap accessible and managed by round-the-clock staff to support residents in their homes. The program also offers vocational services, which include work-readiness training and a day habilitation center in Allston. Over the past five years MAB has moved the majority of its residences to newly-renovated houses, and now seeks to decorate them with art to provide a bright and pleasant living environment for the more than 100 adults with developmental disabilities in the program.

“We receiv[ed] amazing donations for the art fair,” said MAB CEO Barbara Salisbury. “We encourage[d] people to include a note about the former life of the piece, to be hung with the paintings in their new homes. For example, one piece came from the home of the parents of one of MAB’s board members, Dr. Douglas Katz. Though Doug’s parents died a few years ago, he couldn’t bear to throw away the two prints that had hung in their living room for years. Dr. Katz’ father fled Nazi Germany when he 17 years old. A few years later he was drafted into the US army and went on to be a highly decorated war hero in Japan. Having these paintings move on to a new life in a MAB home, to give pleasure to others is a wonderful way for Dr. Katz to honor his parents’ memory.”

The art fair was held at MAB’s program center on Denby Road in Allston on Saturday, Feb. 11th. MAB hopes to hold the event annually.

Photos from the event:
{gallery}ADS_Art_Fair{/gallery} Photos by Gail Schechter