We started the month by shining a light on autism with the Light it Up Blue event at Winchester Town Hall on April 6th. It was a fun family event sponsored by the Winchester Disability Commission and co-sponsored by the Winchester Multicultural Network and Brio. There were bright blue and white balloons, yummy blue glazed donuts by Dunkin Donuts, delicious coffee by our own local Gluten Free Me and lots of fun giveaways! The MC for the evening was Jennifer Flaherty, Lynch special education teacher and the person responsible for organizing the first Light it Up Blue event in Winchester.
Our next event was on April 8th at the Griffin Museum of Photography where we were thrilled to screen the movie Asperger’s Are Us, a documentary about the first standup comedy troupe on the spectrum. We had an extra treat because the stars of the movie participated in a Q&A session after the film. Thank you to the Griffin Museum for hosting this event!
Our final event is a Collage Workshop by local artist John Williams. As an autistic adult, John sees his work as a metaphor for daily life. “The world is for me a chaotic place. Thoughts and images swirl around endlessly in my head, making it hard to stay calm and focused. Art helps me live with autism by channeling my energy into creating new visions.” John’s work has been featured in articles and books, including a cover story for The Folk Art Messenger, feature article in the Boston Globe and his work is included in Drawing Autism by Jill Mullin.
We are excited to host John for another thrilling collage workshop on April 29th at Crawford Memorial Church in Winchester. You can sign up for tickets at Eventbrite. This event is free and open to people of all ages and abilities. We would like to thank Crawford Memorial Church for their continued support of Brio’s mission!
