VISUAL AID & The San Francisco LGBT Community Center ANNOUNCES "GET OUT OF JAIL FREE" EXHIBITION

Get Out of Jail Free , A Visual Aid Exhibition co-presented by the San Francisco LGBT Community Center
April 2-30, 2007
Reception, 6-8pm on Thursday, April 12 th
The Center's Gallery
1800 Market Street, San Francisco, CA
Center Hours: Monday-Friday noon-10pm; Saturday 9am-10pm, closed Sunday.

Exhibition to display visual representations of imprisonment as a metaphor for illness and oppression

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 13, 2007 - Today Visual Aid and The SF LGBT Community Center announced Get Out of Jail Free , an exhibition to be held at The Center's gallery during the month of April 2007. Get Out of Jail Free will explore powerful themes of imprisonment as a metaphor for illness and other issues of struggle, injustice and inequities in power relationships in political, social, environmental and personal arenas.

"The theme "Get Out of Jail Free" came about because it began appearing in works of art by various artists in recent years," said Julie Blankenship, Executive Director of Visual Aid. The Get Out of Jail Free card is traditionally used in the game "Monopoly."   A lucky player draws the card which functions as a pass, used to instantly extricate him or her from dire circumstances. In this exhibition, the title references how--in our darkest hour--we may begin to rely on magical thinking to try and shield ourselves from trouble. We might wish for a charm or envision a threshold we can step through to a parallel universe without illness or homophobia, racist wars or environmental degradation.

"Get Out of Jail Free" offers our artistic community a unique opportunity to participate in an exhibition with artists from around the world," said Julie Blankenship, Executive Director of Visual Aid. "We decided to invite all artists to submit work that responds to the universal themes of oppression and injustice."

Each year, Visual Aid holds 16 exhibitions showcasing work by over 70 member artists who suffer from disabling, life-threatening illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and Breast Cancer. Get Out of Jail Free will feature numerous small works by Visual Aid artists and, for the first time, will include works contributed by artists from around the world.

"We are proud to partner with Visual Aid to host this compelling exhibition," said Thom Lynch, Executive Director of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. "The resilience demonstrated by these incredible artists contributing their work to this exhibit, serves as inspiration in meeting our individual and community challenges head on."

Curated by Maysoun Wazwaz and the Visual Aid exhibition team, Get Out of Jail Free will run from April 2-30, 2007 in The Center's gallery. The public is invited to a wine and cheese reception 6-8pm on Thursday, April 12 th . This celebration will offer an opportunity to view the exhibition and meet the artists. (Free.) Selected works from the exhibition may travel to the Marin Community Foundation or other venues later this year.

Visual Aid has received numerous local and international submissions, and is accepting works for the exhibition through March 30 th . Interested artists are encouraged to email Visual Aid at visaid@visualaid.org for guidelines and more information.

This exhibition will feature 100+ small digital prints, photographs, collages, paintings, drawings, prints, mixed media works and sculpture from the Visual Aid community and supporters. Artists whose work will be featured in the exhibition include Luz de Korum, Don Anderson, Priyanka Gupta, Nadim Sabell, John Wood, Andrea Antonaccio, NicoleBest, Deanna L. Beye, Julie Blankenship, Travis Clarke, Rob Costin, Susanne Deising, Angelo Di Pietrantonio, Joshua Field, Jana Grover, Art Hazelwood, Meri Leon Hernandez, Phillip Hua, Mary Isham, Mike Shriver, David Jones, Emil Flock, Donna Lewis Jones, Doug Miller, Robert Burnside, Nashay Antionette Jones, Peter Max Lawrence, Donna Lewis Jones, Scott MacLeod, Aspen Mays, Dato Mio, Ashley Munro, Kader Muzaqi, Ellis Oyekola, Manisha Patel, Pam Peniston, Brad Polzin, Nicole Repack aka Jocelyn Superstar, Michael Johnstone, Caroline Seckinger, Katie Sehr, Manu Mandeep Singh, Jeffrey E. Spencer, Cara Statucki, Ilona Sturm, Linda Trunzo, Eddie Valentine, Steven Wanzell, Jessica Whiteside, Ginny Wilson, Renee Winick, James A. Winters, Jon Steven Walters, Rene Capone, Termeh Yeghiazarian, anonymous prisoners working on the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, and many more.

About Visual Aid

The mission of Visual Aid is to encourage artists with life-threatening illnesses to continue their creative work. Founded in 1989 by a group of San Francisco artists, art collectors and art dealers, Visual Aid is a non-profit organization that provides services to professional visual artists in the Bay Area who suffer from disabling, life-threatening illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and Breast Cancer. Visual Aid helps produce, present, and preserve the work of member artists by providing free art supplies, exhibition opportunities, and other programs.

About the San Francisco LGBT Community Center

The San Francisco LGBT Community Center, formed in 1993, is the nexus of the LGBT community in the Bay Area, offering facilities, a central location in San Francisco and vibrant programs in HIV prevention, information and referral, arts and culture and economic development in all parts of our community.   The Center serves over 9,000 visitors and hosts more than 400 events each month.

For more information, please visit www.visualaid.org and www.sfcenter.org