TOP ALABAMA ARTISTS AND GRAMMY-WINNING MUSICIAN CREATE PARTNERSHIP
TO INSPIRE ALL THROUGH INCLUSIVE CUTTING-EDGE GALLERY EXPERIENCE
“Exhibition Promises to Educate All about the Unique Journey of the Vision Impaired,
through an Interactive Experience focused on Sound and Tactile art.”
Columbiana, Ala. – An innovative art exhibition opens at the Shelby County Arts Council,
on July 28, 2022. It explores everyone’s fundamental senses of touch, sound, and sight. This special exhibition, titled Color and Sound is a unique learning opportunity created through a partnership between Grammy Award-winning musician Dave Crenshaw and top
visual artists from across Alabama.
This exhibit is made possible by the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the Blue Cross
Blue Shield Caring Foundation. This promises to be an exciting educational experience for
visitors of all ages and abilities, including the blind, vision impaired, deaf, and individuals with a full spectrum of sight.
For the past year, visual artists from Alabama, along with Crenshaw, have collaborated on
this project. The goal of this project is to create awareness of how people with vision or hearing impairments experience art and music.
These artists have successfully met their goal. They have created a dynamic and interactive
art exhibition that everyone can truly appreciate through touch, sight, and sound.
While creating their artwork for this exhibition, many of these wonderful artists listened to the Color and Sound album by Grammy Award-winning musician Dave Crenshaw.
Dave Crenshaw is a native-Alabamian. He is an artist-musician, who was officially diagnosed with low vision sight due to glaucoma in 2020. He also experiences synesthesia, which is a condition where a person will often experience one of their senses through another. For example, when a person with synesthesia hears music, they often see colors.
The songs on the Color and Sound album are Dave’s interpretation of color through
synesthesia. The songs are titled Blue, White, Brown, Gold, Yellow, Red, Green, and
Orange – Check out the album here.
The visual artists were randomly assigned a color from the album to incorporate into their
art installations. “The Shelby County Arts Council is truly proud to host the Color and Sound
Exhibition,” said Shelby County Arts Council Executive Director Bruce Andrews. “This is an
art exhibit for everyone. Regardless of abilities, age…no matter what, art is for the world to
experience.
We hope this exhibit shows people that art and expression are limitless! The exhibit will
open to the public on Thursday, July 28, 2022 and will be on display until September 22,
2022. We encourage all art enthusiasts to visit. They will experience a wonderful exhibit that
will broaden their personal perspective and appreciation for everyone’s individual abilities.”
Located in their newly constructed and state-of-the-art facility in Columbiana, Alabama, the
Shelby County Arts Council displays historical photographs, artwork from national and
regional artists, holds art and music classes, and provides art and music therapy through
community outreach programs.
As a part of this event, Dave Crenshaw will do a live performance of his album Color and Sound at the Shelby County Arts Council, on August 6 – Click here to purchase tickets.
The Inspiration for this Project
After receiving a low vision diagnosis, Dave Crenshaw decided
almost instantly to commit his full efforts to creating music and art that would inspire everyone.
“We should all understand, we can achieve anything in life that we put our minds too,” said Grammy Award-winning musician Dave Crenshaw. “Nothing should define you, or your ability to be successful in life. I am honored my work is recognized as a part of this project. The works created by these gifted artists are an inspiration.”
To learn more about how to visit and experience the Color and Sound interactive exhibition
at the Shelby County Arts Council, visit https://shelbycountyartscouncil.com//
Everyone is encouraged to attend this special interactive event.
“The first time I heard the album Color and Sound, I was blown away,” said exhibit curator
and artist Lindsay Dyess. “Dave’s music sparked my inspiration to create a gallery exhibit
that would explore the idea of creating a piece of art that would be a visual and tactile
representation of a color. Being an artist is about pushing your creative limits and exploring
the unknowns. You never know what you’re capable of until you try.”
The official Color and Sound album video can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/445589381
*Media Members, to learn more or arrange individual interviews on this event, contact
Shelby County Arts Education Manager Lindsay Dyess at lindsay@shelbycountyartscouncil.com,
or contact Project Media Contact Ed Crenshaw at 334-324-9303.
