Gallery 120 at Inver Hills Community College is excited to present Include, from the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and the Minnesota History Center. The art installation is presented alongside works from artists in the Fresh Eye Arts program.
The visiting mobile museum focuses on the history of disability rights in Minnesota. The exhibition runs January 12 through February 6.
The installation — part mobile museum and part gallery presentation — offers an engaging exploration of disability history, personal narrative, and creative expression.
Allison Jenson, Director of Accessibility Resources for Inver Hills Community College, noted that, “The museum is made up of banners with photographs and QR codes that provide information on the disabled experience in Minnesota and how it has changed over time. It looks really cool, interactive, and very powerful. Janell Hammer (gallery coordinator) and I learned about this and decided we wanted to see if we could host the exhibit on campus — and we were selected for a January-February time!”
Closing reception: Thursday, Feb. 5 | 3-4:30 p.m.
Gallery activities during the closing reception and event will include student-run stations and interactive opportunities. From 3 p.m. to 3:50 p.m., attendees can explore both the mobile museum and the gallery space while engaging in hands-on activities. A “passport” experience designed to encourage meaningful interaction with the museum content will be part of the afternoon.
At 3:50 p.m., the event moves into a DIY ramen bar experience, followed by community trivia from 4–4:30 p.m., featuring disability pride-related prizes and conversation.
This closing event invites students, faculty, staff, neighboring high schools’ Unified clubs, and Inver Hills Art Club and Unified for Access/Unity clubs.
RSVP information for food planning will be shared soon.
About Fresh Eye Arts
Fresh Eye Arts is a fine arts program that supports artists with a variety of disabilities. We are a service offered by MSS, a day services provider that serves the Twin Cities Metro area of Minnesota. We provide the opportunity for artists to explore, learn, create, show, and sell their work. Fresh Eye artists Fresh Eye artists are self-driven and are supported in their professional development. We provide artists with high quality materials and access to art facilities that include screen printing, ceramics, and more. Our program is designed and supported by professional teaching artists.
Featured Artists
Eddie Twait
Eddie Twait’s work is a complex document of his life and history: names, dates, and locations of events that have personal and historic significance are mingled with portraits and landscapes of people and places that matter to Eddie. Real and imagined scenes are combined with a detailed, architectural approach that draws the viewer into Eddie’s world. He says about art: “Every day is a good day to make pictures”.
Deja Day
Deja Day is an illustrator who has been with Fresh Eye Arts since 2021. Her colorful, upbeat subject matter contrasts with her urgent, relentless method of creation. Working at a frenetic pace, Deja stacks repeated motifs of personal iconography in a loose grid to completely fill the page. Images are repeated but never copied: each subject is unique. Fashion, instruments, numbers, letters, and figures are some of Deja’s favorite subjects.
Lena Osman
Lena Osman is an interdisciplinary artist operating from the Fresh Eye studio in Saint Paul, MN. Lena’s practice explores diverse mediums and techniques: wax crayon, pastel, oil and acrylic paint, and found objects can all be found on the same piece. Lena is inspired by animals and the natural world: many of her pieces represent the kinetic motion of certain animals or scenes. Lena’s works have been featured in local, national, and international exhibitions.
Dan Stallsworth
Dan creates abstract, colorful works by using an adapted headband tool and controlling it with strong and precise neck movements. He is extremely proud of his ability to create art in this way and would like the world to understand exactly what it takes for him to create these pieces. Dan draws inspiration from God and his wife, Sally. His method of selecting color combinations and layering different colors is an intuitive process that occurs as the painting develops.
To learn more about the exhibition or the closing event, contact either our Director of Accessibility Resources Allison Jenson, or Gallery 120 Coordinator Janell Hammer.
