“Artwork is an extension of the person. If the artwork is accepted, the artist is accepted. That stimulates independence, self-confidence, and motivation.”
~ Donna Lexa, Art Therapist
Art Therapist Donna Lexa founded DLAC as the Community Art Center in 1985. As an intern at Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Hospital, Donna Lexa discovered that there were no art classes for people with disabilities in the Waukesha area. Determined to increase accessibility in the arts to people with disabilities, Donna Lexa began the Community Art Center one day a week, in a Sunday school classroom.
Under Donna Lexa’s leadership, the Community Art Center in Waukesha grew to have programming five days a week, with satellite locations in West Bend and West Milwaukee. Donna also started community outreach classes in Waukesha and Milwaukee Counties at locations where adults with disabilities live and receive services.
Four days before she had planned to accept a Waukesha County Women of Distinction award in May 1996, Donna Lexa was tragically killed in a car accident. The staff and the Board of Directors of the Donna Lexa Community Art Centers—renamed in her honor—worked to ensure that Donna’s legacy would live on through the art centers.
Today, the Donna Lexa Art Centers provide creative opportunities for teens and adults with disabilities, people with chronic mental illness, elders with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and veterans with military-related PTSD in Waukesha and Milwaukee Counties. DLAC serves over 400 individuals each year at two studio locations, thirteen outreach sites and numerous community galleries continuing Donna Lexa’s groundbreaking vision of access to the arts for everyone.