March 7 @ disTHIS! Self Preservation: The Art of Riva Lehrer

Preservation: The Art of Riva Lehrer

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When:
Wednesday, March 7
Time:
6:30 to 9pm. Screening starts promptly at 7pm.
Where:
DCTV @ The Firehouse, 3rd Floor Screening Room
87 Lafayette St (between Walker & White)
Closest subway stops: N/Q/R/W, J/M/Z, or 6 to Canal Street. DCTV is located two blocks South of Canal Street in New York City.

Self Preservation: The Art of Riva Lehrer
PLUS ... A slideshow of Riva’s latest work and audience discussion with the artist will follow immediately after the screening!

About the film:

Sharon Snyder's gallery tour of artist Riva Lehrer's exquisite portraits shines a sharp focus on Lehrer’s “Circle Series” which features expressionistic portraits of powerful, successful, creative friends and scholars with disabilities. Each extraordinary portrait is shown in depth with fascinating insights provided by the artist and her subjects. Lehrer is a major talent and significant disability cultural artist; SELF PERSERVATION provides the disTHIS! audience a welcome cinematic opportunity to revel in her substantial gifts.

About Riva Lehrer:

Lehrer is on the faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was recently awarded the first annual Wynn Newhouse Award for artists of excellence, which comes with a cash award of $50,000. Lehrer was selected from a group of eighteen nominees by a committee of persons respected in the arts community. Newhouse, a respected art collector, created the award to draw attention to the work of the most talented artists with disabilities and to expose the art world -- and the public -- to their important contributions.

Over the years, Lerher has explored the schism between "normal" and "different" in her art with powerful results. Says Lehrer, "Disability and art are natural partners. In order to have a good life with a disability, you have to learn to re-invent your world almost hour by hour. You discover ways to re-imagine everything, and how not to take the average answers to everyday questions. There is a great deal of creativity in disability if you decide that "reality" is just a raw material for you to mould. So many times, these re-inventions have been the keys to open new doors for everyone."

Riva’s recent work can be reviewed at her website:

http://www.RivaLehrer.com

A slideshow of Riva’s latest work and audience discussion with the artist will immediately follow the screening. Don't miss out!

The ever-popular, always rousing audience discussion will follow the screening. All disTHIS! movies, talkback sessions and related events are free and open to the public. $5 Suggested donation. Film is open captioned and there will be ASL interpretation provided at the post-screening discussion. Space is wheelchair accessible. Snacks are provided and there is a cash bar for drinks, but space is limited! Call 212.251.4092 to reserve YOUR seat or email: Lawrence@dnnyc.net

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About us: The disTHIS! Film Series is a project of the Disabilities Network of NYC and is hosted by ConnecTV. We are made possible, in part, by the generous support of The Christopher Reeve Foundation. On the first Wednesday of the month, every month, we showcase cutting edge independent and international short, documentary and feature films with disability themes beyond clichés that audiences members are unlikely to see elsewhere. Movies screened as a part of disTHIS! are always provocative; never quite what audiences expect. A magical, mystical place where plot pulverizes pity, character trumps charity and direction and dialogue beat out diagnosis. The disTHIS! Film Series: No handkerchief necessary, no heroism required. This is disability through a whole new lens.

For more information and to sign up for regular email updates, please visit: http://disthis.org
Be sure to friend us on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/disthisfilmseries