For one weekend only, the Video Game Superstars of the Past, Present, and Future exhibition filled the Summertime Gallery, highlighting the work of artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
The exhibition, supported by YAI Arts & Culture, showcased the group of artists’ love of video games, both past and present.
YAI was founded in 1957 in a small school in Brooklyn by co-founders Bert MacLeech and Pearl Maze MacLeech. They envisioned an organization holistically supporting the I/DD community by emphasizing personal growth, independence, and employment goals.
The organization currently serves 20,000 people within the I/DD community, according to their website.
Jimmy Tucker, one of the contributors to the exhibition, shared that he and his colleagues were incredibly excited to dive into the theme of video games.
“I mean, we’re passionate about all the themes, but this one in particular really, I think, spoke to a lot of people,” Tucker told Brooklyn Paper. “So we were able to go all out.”
Tucker’s work spans from psychedelic themes to comic book characters. The art he made for this exhibition focused on the future of video games, with many of his pieces featuring characters wearing VR helmets.
“When you put on a reality helmet, you’re seeing something that kind of looks real, but it’s not,” shared Tucker. “When I make the picture[s], it’s like, I could be in that world, even if it’s not real.
Artists associated with YAI are welcome to produce work at their fully decked-out art studio in Manhattan.
“ It’s a true professional studio. Not an art class or art therapy but a real place for artists to work and get paid for their work,” said Abe Jacobs, one of the exhibition’s curators.
Jacobs explained that the amazing artwork produced by the artists was so plentiful that it felt right to collaborate with a gallery to show all the work properly.
“They were able to put themselves into the work. And that’s kind of what video games are all about. You have a world where you’re unlimited; you can really be whoever you want to be,” said Jacobs.
The Video Game Superstars of the Past, Present, and Future was shown at Summertime Gallery, 145 Ainslie St, Williamsburg, for only one weekend, but more collaborations are planned for the future.
Visit yai.org to learn more about their work with artists in the I/DD community. Check out summertimegallery.org for upcoming gallery exhibitions.
Additional reporting by Erica Price.
