Mary Payton Zajicek 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.
“The intent in the creation of my artwork is simple, I am compelled to be expressing myself visually, and as such, I hope to be sharing something that brings joy and connects with the viewer. As a visually impaired artist, I am inspired by the unique window my brain insists I see the world through. I will never be able to represent adequately what it looks like inside of this brain. I will, however, be trying to convey the feeling of this unique experience for as long as I can. The results are bright, vibrant, color-saturated mixed media paintings. They are full of movement and dots, and soft forms.“