A PLACE OF PEACE: USING ART AS A WINDOW TO THE SOUL On Exhibit In The Green Mezzanine-Gallery, Beginning August 31

Ms. Mayo teaches art to young adults on the autism spectrum at The University of Texas at Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders, by using art as an alternative and therapeutic means of expression.

This exhibition features works of art from participants in the Young Adult Social Communication Group at the Callier Center, as well as other local organizations, and emphasizes the use of creativity as a tool to increase self-awareness and communication in those on the autism spectrum.

A Place of Peace: Using Arts as a Window to the Soul will be on exhibit at the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts at 2351 Performance Drive, Richardson, TX 75082 from August 31 through September 26, 2021. The exhibit is sponsored in part by The Callier Center for Communication Disorders at UT Dallas in Richardson, Texas.

A Place of Peace: Using Arts as a Window to the Soul is a featured component of the Inclusion is Magical events taking place between September 7-11, 2021 at the Eisemann Center and around the community. Inclusion is Magical was created to showcase the art and performances of the autistic community in partnership with the Eisemann Center, the City of Richardson, Methodist Richardson Medical Center, UT Dallas, The IQ, RISD, Kirin Court, ER Near Me, Cindi's, Ann & Charles Eisemann and other community groups to bring awareness of the opportunities for and capabilities of those on the autism spectrum. Inclusion is Magical will feature activities including the Hacking Autism Hack-a-Thon, The Magic of Kevin Spencer Sensory Inclusive Performance and this art exhibit.

"The teaching philosophy I use in my Callier classroom is modeled after the teaching methods of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis. Brandeis was an art educator that taught art to the children of Terezin during the Holocaust," explains Teresa Mayo. "She used art as a window to the soul and as a tool to release anxiety and restore, if only for a few moments, a sense of "normalcy" for the children imprisoned in the ghetto. Using empathy in art, Brandeis gave the children the lessons and the medium, but ultimately, she had to stifle the unconscious tendency to critique all the things that art educators were trained to do so she could create a place of peace amongst an environment of chaos. Like Brandeis, as an art educator to students on the autism spectrum, I give the students the medium, the technique and the lesson, but strive to maintain a place of peace within the classroom by utilizing the healing properties of aesthetic creativity and leaving the academics of art critique behind."

Gallery hours are 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm Monday through Friday and during all public events. The exhibit is free and open to the public. The Charles W. Eisemann Center is located at 2351 Performance Drive, Richardson, Texas 75082 in the Galatyn Park Urban Center adjacent to the Galatyn Park DART rail station. For more information on exhibits and events, visit the website at www.eisemanncenter.com.

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