Experience
art
that makes your heart
beat
“Making art is what I like.” ArtBeat for Humanity Artist.. Sergio Paniagua..
My name is Sergio “Maiden” Paniagua. Artbeat for Humanity is important to me because I am an artist, I give things everyday. Music is art too, and what is interesting to me comes from my heart. I appreciate it very much. Some of my ideas come from what is beautiful, like roses, trees, people, music, paint, houses, and love. Making art is what I like. I want to make more… I want to think. Before I paint a drum, I have an idea. Ink, paint, and happiness are materials I use to make art. Peace Master gives me ideas for my art. Peace Master is a song I sing. When I sing, I am someone else. When I sing, I put on a black jacket and I feel right. With ArtBeat for Humanity I can make my songs into art. With the drums, I can give to people. I feel like I am good when I sing and better when I draw. I like when people like me and drawing makes love in my heart.
Artbeat for Humanity provides the opportunity for artists with disabilities to utilize the drum not only as an instrument of rhythmic expression, but also as a canvas to share their creative expression through artistic channels. Drum art has been a part of humanity for thousands of years in many diverse cultures around the globe. Artbeat for Humanity is a unique collaboration and partnership project between REMO, Inc. and Arts & Services for Disabled, Inc., promoting:
• Social enterprise, defined as any non-profit, for-profit or hybrid corporate form that utilizes market-based strategies to advance a social mission and values • Social entrepreneurship describes pioneering individuals who generate innovations that benefit humanity and create a business model of positive impact • Social inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. • Vocational training and opportunities through the arts.
Our students astonish me. Our students amaze me. Our students impress me every time I work with them. These feelings intensify when I see their artwork in an exhibit or I see them perform. Our students enter each day determined and open to the possibilities that are waiting for them. They trust and they persevere and in doing so I see profound personal and artistic growth from our students within the studio and in their lives. The artistic process begins with the students having faith in us, as facilitators, and bravely entering the assignment. From there, they drive the projects and expand them in unexpected ways, but always they embrace the endeavor and dedicate themselves to creating a personal piece with no agenda, except to be a reflection of who they are proudly. This is and has been the method in creating the drums and accessories for ArtBeat for Humanity. The goal of this project aligns itself with the mission of Arts & Services for Disabled which is that we believe that everyone longs to fulfill their potential, to be all that they are meant to be in this life. We see the circle of the drum as a symbol and a format for participating artists to extract visually the center and source of their desired being. Behind each drum is a story of an artist, and that artist ‘s desire to extend their world; a whisper, a cry, a shout, a chant, a mantra, an oath, the drum becomes their voice. For some of the artists they identified their professional goal within their art practice and designed images that address those obstacles. For others, their images reflect a collage of self – who they are as a person, what is their personality, how do they want to be perceived? Some artists draw from the world around them and make their own commentaries, in this way they are aligning themselves with many current contemporary artistic ideals. Continually and collectively, these drums achieve great success for their visual power and because of the artistic commitment. I respect and admire the participating students for putting themselves into these drums. They are exceptionally revealing and yet refined. Our students are bold. Our students are talented. Our students are artists.
Honor Robie Dunn Director of Programs, Art & Community Development
Get involved — Participate in an Artbeat for Humanity workshop
— Purchase a drum, mallet, or other merchandise — Donate directly to the project — Sponsor a student
— Lend space for a gallery showing —
If you are an artist with a disability, or an agency supporting these artists, you can contribtute to the project!
— Submit to ArtBeat for Humanity National. Contact: Arts & Services for Disabled, Inc. 562/982-0247 www.artsandservices.org info@artsandservices.com
Please help support. ArtBeat for Humanity. thank you.
As I was reviewing a new ArtBeat for Humanity Collection for exhibit, it occurred to me to present the images so that one can experience the passion that is evidently expressed in each image – the beauty and aesthetic that each artist shares. Art and aesthetic is center to the human experience and good for our soul. For thousands of years cultures all over the world painted on drums as a tribal and spiritual expression of life. This art form healed as it told story after story and played out as music created from deep within. Artist’s often decorated in isolation and then played in tribes and groups – a sort of coming together. This is an essential part of health and wellness, to feel like you are heard and that you belong, to create and experience life with others in a group relationship. I thank Remo for his vision of health and wellness – this movement to humanity... Look what your drums have inspired and the lives that are touched - whether by the artist, the admirer or the collector. You have helped our students with disabilities feel self-worth, confidence and competence in discovering themselves as contributing members to society. The ArtBeat For Humanity Project allows these individuals to find their humanness and well-being by being participants, not recipients of this world. Therefore, their health and wellness is much improved as they feel valued and beautiful. Helen Dolas Founder and CEO Arts & Services for Disabled, Inc.
For more information:
info@artsandservices.com or (562) 982-0247
All purchases are tax deductible donations to Arts & Services for Disabled, Inc. a California 501(c) (3) non-profit.