Palermo Art Gallery as First Chronic Pain Art Gallery in Seattle Metro Area

FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE

CONTACT:

Yvonne Palermo

Palermo Art Gallery

8537 Greenwood Ave N

Seattle, WA 98103

art@yvonnepalermo.com

Palermo Art Gallery to be first stone and mortar gallery for chronic pain inspired art

November 12^th, 2010, Seattle, Washington –Palermo Art Gallery will open its doors with a new mission in mind: Chronic Pain awareness.  The gallery will become the first gallery in the Seattle metro area to exclusively host art created by artists suffering chronic pain.  Palermo Art Gallery for Chronic Pain will kick off its first opening with a solo exhibition by gallery owner and director artist Yvonne Palermo on Friday, November 12^th, 2010 from 6-9pm.  The gallery is located in the basement of the Greenwood Collective (8537 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103).

The mission of Palermo Art Gallery is to promote awareness by giving a face to pain and a voice to those who suffer it in order to advocate pain patients’ rights to treatment in Washington State’s medical and political systems.  Palermo Art Gallery’s mission will be accomplished with the help of two projects including awareness through the visual arts and online through awareness posts on the Palermo Art Gallery blog that help its readers to say current with the issue of chronic pain. 

For more information please visit the website of Yvonne Palermo, at http://www.yvonnepalermo.com, or visit Palermo Art Gallery Blog at http://palermoartgallery.blogspot.com/.

War on Drugs vs. War on Pain?

Lately, Washington State has pushed through the fast-track healthcare bill House Bill 2876, which limits the availability of pain medication for its State residents.  Acetaminophen-containing meds such as over-the-counter Tylenol or prescription-only Vicodin are being whipped off the shelves in a frenzy to eradicate drug overdoses and liver failure.

The Washington State government is stepping in to protect its citizens.  ...Or is it? 

Reading reputable newspapers such as Seattle Times, or The Columbian place Washington State's government in the role of "Hero" by passing HB 2876 and limiting the prescription and sale of pain medication, claiming this will help put an end to overdoses and addiction to pain pills.  

But what about the other side of the story?  What about the millions chronic pain sufferers for whom these pain medications mean survival?  As reported by the Mayday Fund Pain Report of 2009, the US Department of Health and Human Services found that as many as 70 million Americans suffer chronic physical pain, be it a result of a tragic accident, Rheumatoid Arthritis, HIV, Fibermyosis or any other pain inducing illnesses.  If we take pain medication away from everyone in order to curb pain medication addiction and overdosing, what happens to these millions of legitimate chronic pain patients?

Below is a short report by Reason.TV, which looks at America's War on Drugs from the perspective of a sufferer of chronic pain.

Palermo Art Gallery / Bella Dolore / Yvonne Palermo and Theresa LoSchiavo

This month's exhibition at Palermo Art Gallery, Bella Dolore,(Italian for "Beautiful Pain"), explores Chronic Pain awareness and appreciation of the female form through a series of painted-over photographs by painter Yvonne Palermo and photographer Theresa LoSchiavo. 

Please join us on Friday, October 8th from 6-9pm at Palermo Art Gallery (located in the basement of the Greenwood Collective--8537 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103) to view this collaborative duo exhibition. 

Painter Yvonne Palermo is a 20-year sufferer of Chronic Pain. Her works emhasize her own experiences with Chronic Pain and the medical mistreatment she has recieved in our current healthcare system. Her paintings features emotionally charged portrayals of haggard female figures paired with twisted spinal imagery and layers of abstract strokes of paint. These darkly aggressive paintings uniquely convey horrorific aspects of our current healthcare system from the perspective of a woman who is well acquainted with the negative attitude towards chronic physical pain in many American medical facilities. 

Phoographer Theresa LoSchiavo is best known for her ability to capture the essence of women through the "intimate portrait." Shestudied at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her photographs have been published worldwide and included in several group shows. Theresa and Yvonne met last January at a gallery where they were both showing their work.  Shortly thereafter, Theresa asked to photograph Yvonne, andYvonne said "Yes."

For more information about either artist please visit their respective websites at

Yvonne Palermo

http://www.yvonnepalermo.com

Theresa LoSchiavo

http://www.museme.com/

Thank you for reading and I look forward to seeing you on Friday!

Palermo Art Gallery for Chronic Pain Awareness

Perhaps I should start by telling you a little about myself.  My name is Yvonne Palermo.  I am an artist, a mother, a wife and I've battled chronic pain for the last 20 years of my life.  I paint to find release from my pain and help communicate my experiences both with pain and with the American healthcare system to others. Recently, I opened Palermo Art Gallery in Seattle, desiring both a studio space and a place where I could show my paintings.  For a couple of months, I tried to make the gallery open to all emerging Seattle artists, but have decided that chronic pain art deserves a gallery of its own.  Palermo Art Gallery is now the first physical gallery in Seattle to cultivate and exhibit art by chronic pain inspired artists.

The purposes of this blog is to act as a news feed for what's happenin' at Palermo Art Gallery and also to function as a portal for all chronic pain awareness information related especially to the pain patient residents of Washington State.  I have noticed an unfortunate lack of chronic pain advocacy by pain patients in Washington State, and more specifically, Seattle.  Through Palermo Art Gallery I hope to create a community, promoting awareness chronic pain awareness for everyone through art.

Chronic pain patients of Washington State unite!

For more information about me, Palermo Art Gallery or my art, please visit my website at http://www.yvonnepalermo.com.  If you have any questions, please email me at art@yvonnepalermo.com

Thank you!