Iggy Sumnik is a noted artist. Bryan Allison is a young man with intellectual disabilities. Their worlds may seem galaxies apart, but the two have more in common than one might suspect. Both share a love of art, and both would appear to live by the same simple philosophy.
โI like to approach each new day as if I were going for a walk,โ says Sumnik, a ceramic artist who worked for three years as a studio assistant under the internationally acclaimed Jun Kaneko. โI sense that Bryan and I might be a little alike in that regard. We keep our eyes and ears open during our walk through the day, and maybe we stumble onto something that is a little bit different. Maybe we even learn something new. I expect to learn something from Bryan today. I hope he feels the same way.โ
Sumnik was introduced to Allison through a collaboration between local nonprofit organizations WhyArts and VODEC. WhyArts works to ensure that visual and performing arts experiences are open to people of all ages and abilities throughout the metro area. VODEC (see the related story on page 117) provides vocational, residential, and day services for persons with intellectual disabilities in Nebraska and Iowa.
Sumnik unpacks the tools of his professionโa massive block of malleable โpotentialโ and a jumble of clay-working implementsโas he explains to Allison and nine of his VODEC friends what would unfold over the next hour or so.
โI didnโt come in with any particular project in mind for you,โ he explains. โIโm just here to be an extra set of hands, so I want to see your creativity todayโyour ideas, not mine.โโOur ideas,โ the perpetually smiling Allison replies. โIโm going to make an island. Hawaii. Iโm going to be an artist!โ
From senior centers and middle schools to the Completely KIDS campus and vocational facilities like VODEC, WhyArts offers a broad slate of programs backed by a small army of talented artists from the arenas of the visual arts, theater, dance, music, poetry, storytelling, and beyond.
The roster of WhyArts artists reads something like a Whoโs Who of the creative community. Jill Anderson is the popular chanteuse, recording artist, and Actorsโ Equity performer. Roxanne Nielsen makes magic as a frequent choreographer of Omaha Community Playhouse productions. Ballet legend Robin Welch was featured in the last issue of Omaha Magazine. Add spoken word impresario Felicia Webster and Circle Theater co-founder Doug Marr, to name but a few, and itโs a line-up that represents the very bestโand most caringโof a cityโs imagination pool. โThese are more than just talented professionals with long resumes who happen to do workshops,โ says WhyArts director Carolyn Anderson. โThey are advocates of the arts, but they are also passionate advocates for inclusion.โ
Originally known as Very Special Arts Nebraska when the group formed in 1990, the WhyArts model is one that recognizes the simplest of ideasโthat creative expression is a foundational attribute of the human condition.
โThe underserved populations we reach generally do not have access to the arts,โ Anderson continues, โbut creativity is innate in us all, regardless of age or ability. What we do is to help people discover that creativity. We donโt try to โteachโ art. We experience it right along with themโand on their terms, just like you see Iggy doing here today. Everything we do is carefully tailored to the needs and abilities of the people we serve, but we do it in a way that respects the individual and encourages the artistic expression that is waiting to be released in each and every one of us.โ
Itโs a formula that also works well for organizations like VODEC.
โThe WhyArts mission of inclusion mirrors our own in a perfect way,โ says Daryn Richardson, VODECโs services development director. โBoth of our organizations build bridges to the community with as many organizations and with as many people as we can. Thatโs the goal of every program we develop.โ
Making art in a group, Sumnik adds, is a two-way street. โI try to be nothing more than an enabler for their imaginations,โ he says, โbut I canโt tell you how many times Iโve found inspiration for my own work through people like Bryan.โ
Sumnikโs artists have now completed a menagerie of clay creations that will be fired by WhyArts before being returned to their makers. Allisonโs fanciful island paradise features a larger-than-life giraffe towering over a lava-spewing volcano.
โWeโre getting ready to photograph my art for a magazine!โ says Allison, now the center of attention throughout VODECโs humming-with-activity work floor. โIโm going to be an artist!โ
โGoing to be?โ Sumnik replies. โYouโre already there, my man. Youโre already there.โ