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WEEKLY NEWS 4: Art Exhibit Helps MS Foundation

Artist Samantha Keely Smith draws on some of her dreams as sources of inspiration for her paintings. "I've had some recurring dreams with imagery that suggested past lives," she noted.

Her current New York debut exhibit, Rites of Passage at ACA Galleries 529 W. 20th St., features 20 of her dynamic paintings and runs until July 15, 2005. The gallery--working in conjunction with The Montel Williams MS Foundation--expects to donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the paintings to help raise funds so that the Foundation may continue in their mission to develop a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

Keely was delighted to have been approached to do a benefit. "I thought it was a great idea," she noted.

Keely began painting in high school at the age of 17. She immediately felt a strong connection with the medium after visiting her teacher's art studio in New Jersey. "Once I smelled the oil paints, it was like coming home," she said.

Since 2000, The Montel Williams MS Foundation has been active in raising national awareness about the disease. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system which impacts the brain and spinal chord. Current statistics reflect that more than 1 million Americans suffer from the disease.

For more information visit www.montelms.org or www.acagalleries.com.

--Written by Jackie O'Neal

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