Celebrating the power of art to transform lives, I Have Marks to Make, a community exhibition and program, opens Dec. 7 at Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center for the Arts.It features the work of artists with disabilities and individuals from rehabilitation programsthroughout Savannah and includes all age groups. The exhibition includes work from Telfair'scommunity outreach classes, art produced by local organizations and rehabilitation centers, andwork from local schools.

Marking its 20^th year and one of Telfair's longest running programs, I Have Marks to Makebegan as an exhibition of art from the city's Therapeutics Department. Later, it grew to include art from rehabilitation programs at local hospitals, students from Savannah-Chatham PublicSchools, and in particular, Telfair Museums’ outreach programs to agencies that serve individuals with special needs.

“More than an art therapy exhibition, this is a celebration of art as an activity that has the power to heal and transform lives,” said Harry DeLorme, Senior Curator of Education. “Participants inthese programs not only develop artistic skills that enable them to produce incredible work, butthey tell us that the creation of art enhances their lives in ways they couldn’t have imagined. Anoutlet for creativity is rehabilitative in itself.”

The schedule for 2014’s I Have Marks to Make celebration:

Saturday, December 6, 1- 4 pm, Jepson Center

Free Family Day– “Make Your Mark”

The afternoon includes art-making activities for families and a demonstration by longtime I Have Marks to Make artist and teacher Kenneth Martin. At 3 pm, Jacksonville-based artist Liz Gibson will give a performance entitled “Be Brave, Make Your Mark.” Born with seven fingers, Gibson combines her personal experiences with characters, storytelling, songs, and props to express the overcoming of adversity. Free Family Days are a fun and educational way to engage the entire family in hands-on creative activities. Funding is provided by the City of Savannah and Georgia Power Foundation, Inc.

Sunday, December 7, 2- 5 pm, Jepson Center 

I Have Marks to Make Opening Program and Reception

All are invited to this moving program of poetry and performances celebrating the opening of the exhibition. The exhibition officially opens at 2 pm, with a program of readings and performances at 3 pm, and a reception with light refreshments afterward, until 5 pm.Admission is free, thanks to funding from the City of Savannah.

 “At each ‘Marks’ opening, an amazing, moving experience happens for the artists and the audience,” said DeLorme. “No one leaves without a sense of the importance of art’s power to heal and to bring us together as human beings.”

This year’s program includes poetry and prose readings, testimonials, spoken wordperformances, and music by members of the Savannah community. Speakers include representatives from the artists’ group that has developed at Savannahs’ VA Clinic; their instructor, local artist Kenneth Martin; and local poet Robert Cohen, who will read selections from his new book.

The name of the exhibit originated with one of the early participants in the program, Katharine

Hartwig Dahl. In a poem about her struggle to overcome traumatic injury and return to her practice of making art, she included the sentence “I have marks to make,” describing how artsupported her rehabilitation. The director and education staff were taken with her words,embracing it as the theme for the exhibition. Ms. Dahl will return to Savannah to speak at the opening.

“Katharine and other longtime and current participants in Marks illustrate that people areempowered by art,” said Delorme. “Our goal for the exhibit is to capture that empowerment and share this message with the community.”

The exhibit will be on display until Jan. 4, 2015.