AUGUSTA — The Holocaust and Human Rights Center will present an exhibit dedicated to the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The exhibit, which will be held at the Michael Klahr Center on the campus of the University of Maine at Augusta will be displayed from Jan. 17-March 13.
There will be an opening celebration from 2-6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, which will include a program of discussion and presentations by some of the artists beginning at 3:30 p.m. Snacks and drinks will be provided.
The ADA at 25 exhibit includes an overview of the ADA and 504 Federal statute, some important artifacts and stories relating to the treatment and care of people with disabilities in Maine prior to the 504 and ADA, and stories created by Oral History and Folklife, Inc. from 10 Maine individuals who have been touched by the passage of the ADA.
The centerpiece of the exhibit will celebrate the creativity that has been unleashed by the expansion of services and support since the passage of the ADA. The exhibit includes visual arts and poems created by members of Spindleworks in Brunswick. The Linc Wellness Center in Augusta, the Waterville Social Club, and the Charlotte White Center in Dover-Foxcroft, among other sources. The subtitle of the show, Show Me The Incredible, is taken from one of the poems written by a member of the Linc Wellness Center, in a series called LincWords, created with Maine poet Lee Sharkey.
“The goal of this exhibit is to celebrate the effects of the passage of the ADA. We also use historical artifacts to help tell the stories of Mainers whose experiences lead to reforming the way people with disabilities have been treated in our history,” said David Greenham, program director of the HHRC.
“We feel the exhibit captures the spirit that was exhibited when President George W. Bush signed the ADA in the summer of 1990,” said Greenham. President Bush said, “We embrace you for your abilities and for your disabilities, for our similarities and indeed for our differences, for your past courage and your future dreams.”
The ADA at 25: Show Me The Incredible will be open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. through Friday, March 13, or by appointment. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit hhrcmaine.org, or call 207-621-3530.
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