GENEVE: THE MEXICAN SCHOOL OF DOWN ART
EXHIBIT AT THE PALAIS WILSON

• The exhibition was opened last March 21st as part of the celebrations to commemorate the World Down Syndrome Day.

• The Art Exhibit included 28 paintings of the artists of the Mexican School of Down Art of the John Langdon Down Foundation.

• Mrs. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights made the official inauguration of the event.

In words of Mrs. Louise Arbour: “The exhibition comes at a historic moment. A landmark human rights treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, will shortly open for signature and ratification by individual countries. I see this exhibition as a way for us in Geneva to celebrate the new Convention”.

Ambassador Mr. Luis Alfonso de Alba, permanent representative of Mexico in Geneva and President of the Human Rights Council, as well as Professor Sylvia Escamilla, Founding & President of the John Langdon Down Foundation were also present.

Professor Sylvia G. Escamilla stated that the art pieces of these artists confirm that Down Syndrome does not represent a limitation for personal development, and the work of the Mexican School of Down Art shows that education opens the doors to a world of great fulfillments for children and young people with this genetic abnormality, by allowing them to develop all their skills, and especially, to use their artistic skills to express their dreams, ideas, and feelings.

The John Langdon Down Foundation was created on April 3rd, 1972 in Mexico, and it is the first organization of its kind in the world devoted to offering comprehensive health and educational care to people with Down Syndrome and their families. The keystone program of the Foundation is the Mexican School of Down Art which has wide ranging training in theoretical as well as technical development subjects, both in painting as well as in engraving. It currently has more than 200 art pieces, which have been exhibited in different forums in Mexico, United States, Canada, and Europe.

The quality of the art pieces of the Mexican School of Down Art has been recognized by great Mexican painters of the stature of Anguiano, Cauduro, Soriano, and Felguerez, who have stated that the paintings are a reflection of the character of each of these young people. Through the activities taught at the Mexican School of Down Art, the young artists feel they are productive and useful, and in the pieces they create they pour their states of mind, bringing their artistic potential to fruition and literally making “pictorial poetry” with them.

The art pieces that are exhibited there are: La Playa (The Beach) by Aaron Guzman; Sarita y yo (Sarita and I) by Ana Bertha Kuri; Castillo (Castle) and Romulo y Remo (Romulus and Remus) by Armando Robles; Caballero (Knight) by Eric Navarro; Jorobado (Hunchback) by Francisco Pulido; Maestro Daniel (Teacher Daniel) and Perfil (Profile) by Jacqueline Mendez; La Momia (The Mummy) and Mona Lisa by Jesus Melgarejo; Calendario Azteca (Aztec Calendar), Toro Salvaje (Wild Bull), El Brujo (The Warlock) and El Dragon Egipcio (The Egyptian Dragon) by Josafat Calonico; La Vaca (The Cow) and Pareja (Couple) by Lorena Velez; Cuarto de Van Gogh (Van Gogh’s Room) by Marco Polo; Velero (Sailboat) and El Puente (The Bridge) by Maynca Pacheco; Mercado (Market) and Los peces salta en el agua (The fishes jump in the water) by Roxana Velazquez; El estudiante (The Student) and El Gato Montes (The Wild Cat) by Vicente Morales; Enfermo (Sick Person) by Victor Avila; Muerto (Dead), Yo Omar (Me Omar) and Manos y Cara (Hands and Face) of Victor Lora; and Sandia (Watermelon) of Victor Mendez.