When asked about the beginnings of the Gallery Group in Mt. Airy, Donna Jackson smiles and lovingly says, "Ben is my inspiration." Ben is her 23-year-old special needs son. Upon completing high school, Ben's options were limited being in his condition. After doing some research Donna found that the only work available for people like Ben was factory work and, although she felt like this was a good option for some, she didn't feel this was a fit for her son.

The summer after Ben's high school graduation Donna's husband took them all to San Diego on business. While he was in conferences, Donna and Ben visited art galleries and museums. Donna has always loved the arts but her background was mainly in theater. The night of June 7th 2004, when they returned home, Donna had a vivid dream. In her dream she saw Ben in a storefront opening the door and inviting people she had never seen before to come in. She also saw many of Ben's friends from school in the building and they were giving tours telling the people,
"I painted this, I sculpted this, and I designed this." For the next two years she and several mothers of special needs children met regularly to brainstorm about opening an art gallery/working studio for their children. They began to realize that this would provide a service to the community, not only for the special needs kids, but also for the city of Mount Airy. Although some of the local stores carried artwork, there was no art gallery in the town.

After two years of planning and forging ahead they found a building on West Pine Street, in which they spent the summer painting and remodeling. All of the work for the gallery has been accomplished by volunteers and through donations. Donna and other local artists teach in the working studio. The teaching artists get to have their pieces displayed in the gallery and keep ninety percent of their sales since legally the gallery, being a non-profit organization, can only retain ten percent of the sales. In exchange for this benefit the artists teach the kids in the working studio free of charge. This has actually been very rewarding for them to "see the world through the eyes of the handicapped."

The students also get to have the work they create in the classes available for sale in the gallery, and they are extremely excited when one sells. Many of the local artists also teach classes to the general public in the studio. Bill Jackson will start another sculpting class in April. The class fees are very reasonable and fifty percent goes back into the studio/gallery.

Donna is available to speak to civic groups or anyone interested in finding out more about the gallery. Donations are gladly accepted, as this project has really become a huge undertaking. It has required a lot of work and faith that they will have what they need for the next step. Donna says, "Nothing worth having comes easy." This venture is definitely worth the extra effort!

The Gallery Group & Art studio is located at: 162A West Pine Street in Mount Airy, NC. The Gallery is open Tuesday thru Saturday and for special events. Contact Donna Jackson at 336-755-6624 for more information.

Photos and story compliments of: Community Arts Cafe magazine, photos by Jim Tedder and story by Cathy Tedder. www.CommunityArtsCafe.com