Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

New York Sculptor Mark Parsons Teaches Free Workshop at the Arlington Arts Center

WASHINGTON – VSA arts is bringing New York sculptor Mark C. Parsons to Arlington Arts Center on August 9-10 to hold a free sculpture workshop. Parsons will spend two days with participating children, discussing science as inspiration for art and teaching the students about relief sculpture techniques. Students will experiment with images and texture in clay, later creating both plaster molds and wax castings of their work. Parsons, an established professional sculptor who has multiple sclerosis, will also speak to the group about his experience living with a disability.

The visit is the third and final in a series of workshops that Parsons has held across the country, with previous locations in Tulsa, Okla., and Grand Rapids, Mich. The workshops grew out of “Portrait of an Artist-Scientist,” a nationally distributed cross-disciplinary educational resource featuring Parsons that was released by VSA arts and Weekly Reader last fall. The two organizations partnered on this resource to fill a growing demand from teachers for interdisciplinary materials as educators try to teach students to make connections across subjects. Parsons’ work highlights the intersection of art and science. Classrooms were selected by VSA arts to work directly with Parsons.

“VSA arts believes it is important to bring artists with disabilities directly into communities both to teach and to serve as role models,” said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts. “Through the arts, children learn how to think critically and stretch their imaginations at the same time.”

Parsons works out of his Brooklyn studio and is currently director of production for the Pratt Institute School of Architecture. His work has been exhibited at The United Nations, The Kennedy Center, The Provincetown Art Museum, the New Bedford Art Museum, and in numerous private galleries.

The Arlington Arts Center (AAC) is a private, nonprofit contemporary visual arts center dedicated to presenting and supporting new work of regional artists from the Middle Atlantic States. Through exhibitions, educational programs, and subsidized studio spaces, the AAC serves as a bridge between artists and the public. The goal is to increase awareness, appreciation, perception, and involvement in the visual arts for the public in Arlington County, Va., and the region.

The workshop is free and open to the public. Children with and without disabilities are encouraged to attend. Registration is required; the deadline is Aug. 1. The Arlington Arts Center is located at 3550 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. For more information, please call (202) 628-2800, or visit www.vsarts.org.

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