The Amos Lemon Burkhart Foundation is proud to unveil the first collected show of an important local artist, along with a special “experiencing exhibit” for teens, this summer at Goggleworks.
“Our mission is to start a new conversation about these topics. The more we learn about the brain, the more we can explore both the mysteries of mental illness and the miracles of creativity. We want to dispel some of the negative myths and stigmas by looking at the science in new, creative ways.” — Dr. Robert Nelson, ALB Foundation Board President
“This year has been challenging for teens, who are hard-wired for socializing. We had to postpone this show last year because of the pandemic, but we are so glad that groups will be able to experience it safely this summer. The exhibit is packed with information and offers a lot of new ways to approach the topics of creativity, addiction, and mental illness. We hope that every young person in Berks County gets a chance to see the art and interact with the installations,” says Ann Lemon, the mother of Amos Lemon Burkhart and Executive Director of the Foundation dedicated to his legacy.
Amos Lemon Burkhart, of Mohnton, was a driven young artist who created hundreds of paintings, works on paper, digital art, and animations between the ages of 15 and 19. He died tragically at 19, drowning in an accident fueled by a combination of Xanax and alcohol, after a year of struggling in treatment for addiction, depression, anxiety, and issues around gender identity and relationships.
Visitors will have opportunities to read, ask questions, reflect, make art, play, and contribute to learning by sharing their own insights, in addition to exploring the artwork on exhibit. “Every person who visits will make a contribution and add to the experience,” says Lemon.
The artwork will fill the Schmidt Gallery on the second floor, with the Science exhibit occupying Studio 240. Burkhart’s work has only previously been on view in a one-person show at the Founder’s Gallery in Beverly, MA.
His unique style was developed through his study of animation at the California Institute for the Arts (Cal Arts) and developed through intense work and study on his own, in and out of recovery. In his own studio in a barn, “Lemon” restlessly worked to understand and express his own turbulent interior life in images, text, sound, and motion. The complexities of emotional lability, anxiety, and trauma, questions about love, sex, and gender identity, and issues around substance use and abuse are revealed in complex, layered images.
The mission of the Amos Lemon Burkhart Foundation is to sustain and promote the legacy of the artist and to help young artists stay alive and make art. The Foundation awards an annual scholarship to a Governor Mifflin student who displays unusual artistic promise, as well as funding scholarships in his name at the Montserrat College of Art and the Caron Foundation.
With a concurrent hands-on science exhibit in Studio 240
Against the Wind: A New Conversation
about Creativity, Addiction and Mental Health
Open to the public June 5 – July 23rd, Saturdays 1-5 pm & Tuesdays 4-8 pm
Experimental Animation Mini-Festival
Sunday, July 11th at 5 pm and Wednesday, July 14th at 5 pm.
Goggleworks Albert & Eunice Boscov Film Theater
See the 2021 Academy Award nominees for Animated Short Film with an additional curated collection by young animators (under 25). Afterward there will be a short discussion and Q&A session about careers in animation. FREE for teens 12-18 and seniors over 60: $5 for everyone else. Sponsored by the Amos Lemon Burkhart Foundation.
“Creativity, Addiction, & The Brain” Presentation and Conversation
Join ALBF Board members Dr. Robert Nelson and Dr. Jonathan Harris on Tuesday, July 6, at 6 pm in the Schmidt Gallery.
The scientists will discuss their recent work, exciting new studies about addiction and the brain, and engage with audience questions. Dr. Jonathan Harris oversees Caron’s Integrative Neurofeedback Therapy programs in Pennsylvania and Florida, implementing strategies to enhance patient treatment efficacy through the use of brain imaging technology. Dr. Robert E. Nelson is a psychiatrist at DGR Comprehensive Behavioral Health and the Caron Foundation with a specialization in addiction.
The hands-on exhibit “Against the Wind” will be open before and after the lecture.
“Let the Art Move You” / Dance Without Disqualitifcation
Saturday, June 12, 6-8 pm and at the Closing on Friday, July 30.
In the Rolf and Renate Schmidt Gallery, 2nd floor, The Goggleworks Center for the Arts.
201 Washington Street, Reading PA. Handicapped parking available.
A participatory dance / movement experience for anyone of any age or ability. Dance therapist Autumn Crane will facilitate this unconventional way to experience art. Dress comfortably.
For more information contact Autumnecm@gmail.com with subject line “ART.”