Blanton’s art on display at WNE

Feb. 11, 2016 |

SPRINGFIELD – The Western New England University Art Gallery will be hosting an exhibit “Keeping the Arts Alive,” by local sculpture, painter, and art teacher Don Blanton & ARTEsteem until March 3.

His “ArtEsteem” program, which he founded in 1996, is the basis for his work at the Kathleen Thornton School for special needs children, the Children’s Study Home for at-risk children, and the Valley Opportunity Council in Chicopee, where he has taught a drug- prevention program for teens.

Blanton has also taught after-school programs for children at his studio, Distinctive Art, and has run a mentoring program with students from Duggan Middle School.

Born in Indiana, Blanton came from a family of 11 children. He served in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam in the early 1960s. He then moved to Western Massachusetts to work at Westover Air Base in Chicopee.    

The Western New England University Art Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

For information and directions to the gallery visit www.wne.edu/arts or call the university at 782-1567.

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