 Rochester, NY--October 16, 2015-- Only three more days to see the photography exhibition, Positive Exposure: Change How You See, See How You Change, featuring 20 original portraits of people from the Rochester area with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The exhibition closes Sunday October 18 at George Eastman Museum in Rochester.
Positive Exposure features three collections of more than 50 photographic portraits by internationally renowned photographer Rick Guidotti. Guidotti has spent 15 years working to affect a sea change in societal attitudes toward individuals living with genetic differences. The award-winning former fashion photographer founded and directs
Positive Exposure, an innovative nonprofit arts, education, and advocacy organization that explores the social and psychological experiences of people living with genetic, physical, cognitive, and behavioral differences.
The exhibition will be on view through October 18, and is made possible by the
Golisano Foundation, in celebration of its 30th Anniversary.
Admission to the Positive Exposure exhibition is free. Admission fees apply for entry to the rest of the museum.
Positive Exposure Exhibition Includes:
- The premiere of 20 original portraits of people from the Rochester area with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They were taken by Guidotti in August at George Eastman Museum.
- A collection of 29 images from Guidotti's main Positive Exposure Exhibition, which premiered at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC and continues to exhibit in galleries, museums and public arenas internationally.
"Prepare to be inspired!" said Guidotti. "These photographs provide the opportunity to see beyond all labels or disabilities, presenting people as the beautiful, vibrant individuals that they are."
Ann Costello, Director of the Golisano Foundation said, "Through this exhibition, we hope people will see the beauty in human diversity, change how they see people, and be changed in the process. Every day we dedicate our work at the Foundation to helping people with intellectual disabilities live with dignity and maximize their abilities. What people see or don't see in others often makes a big difference in whether or not someone is included or ignored. We invite people to experience the joy, challenges and compassion that come from seeing and being together with people who have disabilities and other differences."
Positive Exposure Exhibition Information
Positive Exposure Opens to the Public October 2 and continues through October 18 in the Projects Gallery
- Download Positive Exposure Exhibition Flier
- George Eastman Museum is located at 900 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607 and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10AM to 5 PM and Sunday from 11 AM to 5 PM.
- Admission to the Positive Exposure Exhibition is free of charge. Should guests wish to visit the rest of the museum, admission is $14 for adults, $12 for senior, $5 for students with valid ID and free for museum members and children 12 and under. For more information about George Eastman Museum visit eastman.org
- For more information about the exhibition contact the Golisano Foundation at (575) 340-1203.
Rick Guidotti
Rick Guidotti is a former fashion photographer who has worked for clients such as Yves Saint Laurent, Elle, and Harpers Bazaar. He has spent the last 15 years working to affect a sea change in societal attitudes towards individuals living with genetic differences. His work has been widely published in the world's leading newspapers, magazines and journals including Elle, GQ, People, the American Journal of Medical Genetics, The Lancet, Spirituality and Health, the Washington Post, Atlantic Monthly and Life Magazine.
Rick Guidotti's Positive Exposure photo and video presentation explores the social and psychological experiences of people living with genetic, physical, cognitive and behavioral conditions of all ages and ethno-cultural heritages. Positive Exposure provides new opportunities to see individuals living with a genetic difference first and foremost as a human being with his/her own challenges rather than as a specific diagnosis/disease entity.
Guidotti's work is also the focus of the new film
On Beauty, which recently premiered to rave reviews in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere around the country. In the film, director Joanna Rudnick followed Guidotti, who grew tired of seeing the same ideal of beauty "spit up at us constantly." Disillusioned by the industry, in a moment of serendipity, Guidotti walked by a young woman with Albinism (a genetic condition that results in loss of pigmentation in the hair and eyes) at a NYC bus stop, and wondered why she wasn't considered beautiful in his other world. This exploration resulted in a show-stopping magazine spread for Life Magazine featuring young women with Albinism smiling out from under the headline "Redefining Beauty."
George Eastman Museum holds unparalleled collections, totaling more than four million objects, of photographs, motion pictures, cameras and technology, and photographically illustrated books. Established as an independent nonprofit institution in 1947, it is the world's oldest photography museum and third largest film archive in the United States. The museum is located in Rochester, NY, on the National Historic Landmark estate of George Eastman, the innovator of popular photography and motion picture film.
Golisano Foundation
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the Golisano Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States devoted exclusively to supporting programs for people with intellectual disabilities. Founded in 1985 with an initial gift of $90,000 from B. Thomas Golisano, the founder and Chairman of Paychex, the Foundation now has more than $32 million in gross assets and has awarded more than $19.5 million in grants, about $1.5 million annually, to non-profit organizations in a multi-county region surrounding Rochester, New York that serve people with developmental disabilities. Through targeted initiatives, it is the Foundation's vision that communities will encourage and commit to inclusion, acceptance and opportunity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and provide services that empower individuals to make their way productively and creatively in their communities.
###
|
