September 4, 2007
The season's first snow
Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure on exhibit at the Danforth Museum of Art
Framingham, MA — It will be snowing Oct. 30 – Dec. 2 in the Children's Gallery at the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham. The Museum is hosting an exhibit of creatively designed wood snowflakes that will be auctioned off online to support Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure, a benefit for sarcoma research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
More than 200 well-known children's book illustrators from around the world, including Mo Willems (Knuffle Bunny series), Kevin Hawkes (The Library Lion) and Patricia Polacco (Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare), have been given a five-inch wooden snowflake to transform into an original piece of art. Like actual snowflakes, each design is unique. Creating a winter wonderland, the snowflakes will be on display around the Museum's Children's Gallery.
Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure was developed by children's book author and illustrator Grace Lin. Just after getting married, her husband Robert Mercer was diagnosed with sarcoma, a cancer of the soft tissue and bone. While Mercer was receiving treatment, Lin told him a bedside story about a mouse that couldn't go outside to play in the snow. The story grew into a children's book, titled "Robert's Snow." When Lin was finishing the artwork for the book, her husband had a relapse, so her colleagues rallied to create Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure to increase awareness about sarcoma and to raise research funding. Mercer passed away in August 2007, but Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure continues as a legacy to his life.
Entrance into the Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure exhibit is free to Danforth Museum of Art members or included with paid museum admission, which is $8 for adults and $7 for students and senior citizens. In addition to the exhibit, there will be an artists' reception on Sunday, Nov. 4, following First Sunday Drop Into Art activities for children and their families from 2–4 p.m. The reception will give the public an opportunity to meet some of the exhibiting artists.
First Sunday Drop Into Art programs are free, thanks to generous support from the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation. The Danforth Museum of Art is located at 123 Union Avenue in Framingham. Go to http://www.danforthmuseum.org for museum hours and additional information.
The snowflakes will be auctioned off to benefit Dana-Farber during three online auctions, on Nov. 19 – 23, Nov. 26 – 30 and Dec. 3 – 7. To preview the snowflakes online and to place a bid, go to www.robertssnow.com. The artwork is great for a holiday gift and bidding is open to everyone.
Robert's Snow is in its third year and has already raised more than $200,000 for Dana-Farber. For more information about Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure and to view the snowflakes, visit www.robertssnow.com.
Contact:
Elizabeth Chernack
Jimmy Fund
(617) 632-4687
elizabeth_chernack@dfci.harvard.edu
Katherine French
Danforth Museum of Art
(508) 620-0050, ext.11
kfrench@danforthmuseum.org
