Announcement from INTO LIGHT:
INTO LIGHT, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to remembering, through art, those who have lost their lives to drug addiction, is requesting submissions for its fall exhibit at the A-B Tech/Mission Health Conference Center Gallery in Asheville, NC. The exhibit is scheduled to take place Oct. 19 – Nov. 20, 2020, depending upon current COVID restrictions at that time, and will feature 41 graphite portraits of “loved and lost” created by INTO LIGHT founder Theresa Clower.
To date, Clower has received 23 submissions and seeks an additional 17 to complete the installation. She welcomes submissions from all across NC, but encourages families from Western NC, particularly from persons of color, to consider participating. Each framed portrait is accompanied by a narrative depicting their life as told by their loved ones and gifted to the family at the conclusion of the exhibition. There is no cost to the family to participate. NC residents who are interested in submitting an application on behalf of a loved one lost to drug addiction should visit INTO LIGHT(https://intolightproject.org/submit-images-asheville) for guidelines.
INTO LIGHT exhibitions seek to erase the stigma and honor loved ones who have lost their lives to drug addiction with exhibitions across the country.“Rather than have our loved ones forever defined by the disease of addiction and the cause of their death, we wish to portray them in their entirety, both the light and the dark,” said Theresa Clower, founder, INTO LIGHT. “A goal of theproject is to alleviate the stigma surrounding drug addiction and bring to light the victims’ lives, rather than focus on the darkness surrounding their deaths.”
Clower was inspired to create INTO LIGHT shortly after the death of her son, Devin Bearden, to an accidental drug overdose in Baltimore, MD in February 2018. Having never attempted portraiture work before, she picked up her graphite pencil and began drawing. It was a cathartic experience that allowed her to say goodbye to her son. In so doing, Theresa tapped into an entirely new calling – drawing the faces of others who had lost their lives to drug addiction. From there, she held her first exhibition in Baltimore in 2019. Asheville will be her second, with California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania slated for 2021.
INTO LIGHT partners with colleges and universities across the United States, providing not only an opportunity to view the exhibit of the portraits, but a forum for sharing stories, providing support and offering education and activities that address the drug epidemic. All activities and educational programs are open to the public.
Applications for the Asheville exhibit will be accepted through Sept. 1, 2020. Those who wish to apply for a loved one to be a part of the exhibit can visit https://intolightproject.org/submit-images-asheville/to review guidelines.
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