LEWISTON — The Atrium Art Gallery at USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College is presenting “A Matter of Perception: Juried Exhibition by Artists with Disabilities,” April 8 through May 24. A reception, free and open to the public, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, April 8.

The exhibition was organized by VSA Maine, a nonprofit organization providing innovative arts, educational, and cultural opportunities to children and adults with disabilities in Maine. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, prints, collage, sculpture, and works in mixed media.

VSA Maine, located in Brunswick, serves the entire state with artist residencies in schools, workshops for teachers and artists, and exhibitions by adult artists with disabilities. They also partner with cultural organizations throughout the state to improve accessibility for the disabled. More information on VSA Maine is available online at www.vsartsmaine.org.

VSA Maine began organizing art exhibitions by those with disabilities in 1997. The jury selects a representation for the traveling exhibit that is shown in art galleries, community centers, libraries, and other sites around the state.

Executive Director of VSA Maine, Kippy Rudy, commented on the 37 works included in the exhibit, “The artists come from every corner of the state, they have a wide range of artistic training and backgrounds, they work in a breadth of artistic styles and mediums, and they represent the spectrum of what it means to have a disability.”

The exhibition is presented at the Atrium Art Gallery in partnership with the Maine Occupational Therapy Association (MeOTA), representing occupational therapy practitioners throughout Maine. Occupational Therapy is a skilled profession which enables people of any social circumstance, age, ability, injury and/or disease to engage in meaningful life activities. USM Lewiston-Auburn College has a master of occupational therapy degree program, which began over 15 years ago and has received international acclaim for its curriculum.

The Atrium Art Gallery is located in the hub of the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College at 51 Westminster St. in Lewiston.

The exhibition continues through May 24. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m; closed holidays. For more information contact Robyn Holman, curator, 753-6554, or the gallery’s website www.usm.maine.edu/lac/art .

Artists in the exhibition are:

Emma L. Becker, Brunswick; Diane Black, Brunswick; Donna Beveridge, Saco; Jennifer Blake, Hulls Cove; Rosalind Ellen Bridges, Portland; Gaetan Davis, Brunswick; Lukas Konrad Weber, Portland; Shell Moore, Winthrop; Gillian Roach, Brunswick; Jill Raczek, Bangor; Faith Benedetti, Winthrop; Lauren White, Winterport; Renee Camire, Saco; Donna Cluff, Dayton; Valerie Porter, Augusta; Anna Simmons, Portland; Rhonda Call, Lewiston; Michael Desjardins, Saco; Tom T. Jones, Wiscasset ; Sarah Libby, Buxton; Anna McDougal, Wiscasset; Andrew Jonathon Parker, Orrs Island; Randel Pickel, Scarborough; Kathy Smith, Scarborough; Terri Snape, Freeport; Charles Nelson Stratton, Gardiner; Richard Susi, Scarborough; Deanna Mae Wilcox, Limerick; Joyce Worster, Arundel; Will Cobb, Gray; Tammy Charles, Saco; Sam Eberhardt, Brunswick; Amy Madsen, Brunswick; J.N. Lovejoy, Portland; Peter Nicolaides, Portland; Elena Jahn, Monhegan Island; Mitch Pfeifle, Brunswick