Crawfordsville Library to Feature Johnson Simon’s Artwork

The Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery at the Crawfordsville District Public Library will feature the work of Johnson Simon through mid-November. The public is welcome to visit the gallery during CDPL’s regular hours of operation.

Simon’s work includes several books created for children as companion pieces to the documentary “The Best We’ve Got: The Carl Erskine Story,” which won the Heartland International Film Festival’s Audience Choice award in 2022.

Simon moved to the United States from Haiti with his family as a small child. He was born with cerebral palsy as a result of the umbilical cord wrapping around his neck.

Simon earned a degree in fine arts at Western Michigan University and earned a master’s in fine arts from IUPUI. While at Western Michigan, he began to explore in others and recorded his own movements to discover personal rhythms. This research inspired his painting.

“As someone with a disability, movement impacts me on a daily basis,” Simon told the Crawfordsville Journal Review. “My artwork is a way for me to express how I would move if I could do so freely and uninterrupted. On canvas I can run, walk, jump and dance without being bound by physical limitations. In my artistic work, I can move freely without limitations.”

The exhibit is free to attend and available during regular library hours.