Artist
Marilyn Newbym et al.
Title
All of Us Under a Rainbow
Year
1982-1985
Acquisition Category
Donation
Artwork Type
Mosaics
Artwork Material
Ceramic mosaic pieces
Designation
N/A
Donor
ISU Alumni Association
Artwork Location
Visibility
Outdoor
Location
Bone Student Center (BON)
Location Description
Exterior west wall of Bone Student Center
Campus Zone
North
How It Purchased
A Very Special Arts Festival was co-sponsored by the Illinois Office of Education and the National Committee – Arts for the Handicapped.
Identification Plaque
N/A
Description
All of Us Under a Rainbow was designed and coordinated by Illinois State Art Professor Emerita Marilyn Newby. Newby’s mosaic mural consists of 21 large panels fitted together. It was created with approximately 2,500 individual ceramic pieces made between 1982 and 1985. Each piece was fashioned by one of more than 1,200 participants of A Very Special Arts Festival, an art program offered on campus during the 1980s that brought together hundreds of children with disabilities, volunteers, students, and faculty from the College of Fine Arts.
When founded in 1974, the organization was named the National Committee – Arts for the Handicapped. In 1985, the name changed to Very Special Arts. In 2010, it became VSA. The international organization on arts and disability, was founded more than 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to provide arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities and increase access to the arts for all.
Reference Sources
- “About VSA International.” VSA International. Accessed November 4, 2021. https://vsainternational.wordpress.com/about/.
- “A very special day.” The Vidette (Normal, IL). October 20, 1978. https://videttearchive.ilstu.edu/?a=d&d=vid19781020-01.2.41&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN-art+objects+purchased——
- Dangel, Cheryl. “Rainbows at festival bring smiles, joy to young and old.” The Vidette. Normal, Illinois. October 20, 1980. https://videttearchive.ilstu.edu/?a=d&d=vid19801020-01.2.43&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN——-
- Durako, Kathy. “Art objects purchased through fees, alumni.” The Vidette (Normal, IL). November 14, 1975. https://videttearchive.ilstu.edu/?a=d&d=vid19751114-01.2.27&srpos=4&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN-art+objects+purchased——
- Kirby, Debbi. “Art festival planned for the handicapped.” The Vidette (Normal, IL). October 11, 1978. https://videttearchive.ilstu.edu/?a=d&d=vid19781011-01.2.18&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN——-
- Meckstroth, Steve, and Mark Schmitt. Campus art: A walking tour of selected artwork on the campus of Illinois State University. Normal: University Marketing and Communications, 2003.