To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists in Taiwan (MFPA Taiwan), and to express their warm gratitude to their numerous patrons over the years, the MFPA is co-hosting this exhibition with Cathay Financial Holdings. On display will be the artistic talents of these extremely perseverant and courageous people.
The MFPA is an international association wholly owned and run by disabled artists to help them meet their financial need. Members paint with brushes held in their mouths or feet, since disabilities they sustained at birth, or through accidents or illness, prevent them from using their hands.
The origins of the MFPA stretch back to 1956, when Erich Stegmann, a polio-stricken mouth painter, gathered a small band of disabled artists from eight European countries. Their ultimate goal was to make a living through their artistic efforts, and to obtain a sense of work security that had previously eluded them. The group has now grown to represent approximately 800 members from over 70 countries around the world.
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