bergenPAC's Sandy Bennett Art Gallery to Present THE ART BEYOND A SYNDROME Exhibition This Winter

The SAndy Bennett Art Gallery at the Bergen Performing Arts Center located at 30 North Van Brunt Street in Englewood, New Jersey hosts The Art Beyond A Syndrome, an exhibition by NJ-based artist Andrew Weatherly.

The art exhibit is in residence at The SAndy Bennett Art Gallery on the 2nd floor of the bergenPAC from January 2-29, 2017. The gallery is open to the general public during box office hours Mon-Fri 11AM - 6PM and Saturday 12PM to 4PM and available to patrons of scheduled performances. There is a free reception open to the public on Saturday, January 7, 2017 from 2PM-4PM.

The Art Beyond A Syndrome: Andrew Weatherly's warmth, insightfulness and sensitivity is brought together in the collection of work, The Art Beyond A Syndrome. Born with Down Syndrome, Weatherly expresses and shares the innermost thoughts of a profoundly perceptive young man through painting, photography, and poetry, highlighting the "abilities" in everyone.

Weatherly is a resident of Northern New Jersey and is an active community member teaching watercolor classes to seniors in Englewood, NJ, volunteering as a coach with the Challenger basketball program and Infinity Equine Therapy horseback riding program, and playing tennis on the Bergen Aces SONJ team.

For Weatherly, "art is a tool for personal and social growth. I believe that art is a medium I can use to advocate for people with disabilities. I am a painter, poet and photographer. I choose the media that offers me extraordinary avenues for self-expression while sharing my own insight and perspective with the viewers. I do not let the fact that I was born with Down Syndrome deter me from developing my passions."

Recent exhibits and juried art shows include: ArtsAbility 2016, Malverne, PA, 2016 Leesa Dream Gallery, NYC, 2016 Heart & Sold at the Salford Museum, England, 2015 Heart & Sold, NYC, Arts Unbound, "2016 Winter in Summer", 2014 Kennedy Center's V.S.A. International Emerging Young Artists, The Journey, Washington, DC, Art Lifting in Cambridge, MA, Arts To The Avenue - Greenwich, Ct., Belskie Museum of Art & Sciences, NJ and Cape Cod Museum of Arts, Brewster, MA. Poetry exhibits include VSA NJ zist and zand Joyce Indik Wordsmith Competition and "Voices of Peace Poetry, Veterans for Peace & Arts Foundation, MA.

In 2014 Weatherly was selected as one of 15 Emerging Young Artists for the Kennedy Center's V.S.A. International exhibit, The Journey, for his painting "Winter Worlds." The Journey toured in major cities throughout the country following its opening at the Ripley Center of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.

Founded in 2003, the 1,367-seat Bergen Performing Arts Center, or bergenPAC, is the area's cultural mecca. Housed in a historic Art Deco-style theater boasting one of the finest acoustic halls in the United States, bergenPAC attracts a stellar roster of world-class entertainment. The jewel in our crown is The Performing Arts School at bergenPAC - the innovative, educational performing arts initiative that, through programs, classes, outreach, school shows, and main theater presented shows, reach more than 30,000 students and community youth annually. The Performing Arts School provides community youth, age 2 months to 21 years, with unique, "hands-on" training in music, dance and theater by industry professionals. It is through the ongoing generosity of sponsors, donors, members, and patrons that the not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation bergenPAC and The Performing Arts School are able to thrive and enrich our community.

For updates, "Like" bergenPAC on Facebook (facebook.com/#!/bergenpacfan), follow @bergenPAC on Twitter, follow on LinkedIn and visit www.bergenpac.org.

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