VISITING ARTIST OPENING
Leah Keith
Thursday, Oct. 8, 6-8pm
508 Main St. Warren RI
We’ll have light refreshments and nibbles.
MEET THE ARTIST!
‘I am different and different is good’ – Leah Keith
I have been creating art and poetry since I could talk and even before I could walk. I am a strong advocate for both myself and others with different abilities. My art is a way of expressing who I am. My preferred medium is painting with acrylic paint on canvas in free form and then spontaneously reciting a poem, which is transcribed on paper by my trusted support assistant, Stephen Alfano.
My abstract paintings are created through a meditative process that leads to a new poem to complete the process. Over the years I've developed a technique which combines colors in one brush stroke. These swirls of color have dimension, which somehow keep their form and thankfully don’t turn to mud.
As a serious thinker I want to make a positive impact on my community. Through community activism I advocate and educate about disability awareness. Through my art I have found my place in society and through this medium I have also found myself. I’ve won many awards for my poetry and have served as the Poet Laureate for VSA Arts of RI for the past 6 years. I have written and presented my poetry at many events, such as the 25th anniversary celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act at Pawtucket Town Hall, Imago’s Poetry in The Wild event for the 2023 October Walkabout and at Salve Regina University. I was the keynote speaker for the 2021 Advocates in Action Conference. I attended the Bristol Community College theater program and performed and wrote for several productions, such as, Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, Matchsticks and Treasure Island. I published a book called, I Am Leah, and am preparing to publish my second book, The Calling. Both books are collections of my art and poetry.
Through this current collection of painting and poetry I continue to explore my environment and how I relate to it. My art gives me a way to grow and develop and connects me to my community in a unique way.