Bonnie Lee is one of nine inaugural winners of the Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities. This award, designed to support accessibility in the arts and celebrate the exceptional work of disabled Midwestern visual artists, has received an incredible response from the artistic community. Over 200 artists applied to receive funds, and a panel of seven reviewers narrowed the pool to nine finalists from across the Midwest.
“My intent, my passion and my sole mission with my days in this life is to use art to raise awareness and uphold the belief that freedom from domestic violence is a basic human right. In 2015 while on social security disability; I founded The Beautiful Life Portraits. This is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3). We paint portraits of people who have died of domestic violence. The portraits are displayed as a public, mobile memorial to open up conversations about prevention. It is what gets me up in the morning.”
