Arc of Seneca Cayuga receives $4,300 grant for computer-assisted art labs

AUBURN — Arc of Seneca Cayuga announced it has recently received a grant of $4,300 from the Cayuga Community Fund.

Money from the Community Fund helps programs in education, health, social services, the arts, civic, and environmental concerns, as well as the preservation of historic resources in Cayuga County. The grant will be used for the purchase of computer-assisted art labs, which will soon be installed at five-day service sites operated by Arc of Seneca Cayuga, the nonprofit said in a news release.

Each site will be equipped with an art lab to include a Dell Inspiron computer with touchscreen capability, an HP Office Jet color printer, and numerous software art applications, the Arc said. 

These art labs will enable about 85 individuals to create original works of art design and the touchscreen capability will be particularly helpful for those with manual dexterity difficulties. 

“Computer Art Labs have already been extremely successful in Seneca County. Not only are people excited about creating original artwork, but we have seen people grow in independence and ability to work in the Art Labs with less supervision, which has increased confidence and self-esteem,” Ed Sayles, community relations consultant for Arc of Seneca Cayuga, said in the release.

Sayles added that the expectation is for each person to create a portfolio of artwork that would be displayed in an online gallery. There will also be a public exhibition held at various sites in downtown Auburn next June. 

Sayles expressed his, “deep gratitude to the Community Fund Committee for making all of this possible” and he is looking forward to, “the budding of many new artists.”