text: Dyer Arts Center | National Technical Institute for the Deaf | RIT
  HOURS (unless otherwise noted):
  VP: 585-204-2205
  Voice: 585-475-5024
  dyerartscenter@gmail.com
  The Dyer Arts Center will be closed for renovations April 1 – July 1, 2022
  The Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Arts Center at NTID houses several state-of-the-art galleries that showcase artworks created by current students, alumni, and artists who are nationally and internationally renowned. All of these artists are deaf, hard of hearing, and/or allies of the Deaf community.
  The center also hosts art-related educational activities such as lectures and demonstrations, and serves as a multi-use facility on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. The center is unique among other galleries on campus for its permanent collection of works by deaf and hard of hearing artists.
  Thanks to a leadership gift from the late Joseph and Helen Dyer, long-time supporters of NTID, the center opened in the fall of 2001.
  Joseph and Helen Dyer
  Long-time supporters of NTID, Joseph and the late Helen Dyer, are deaf college graduates. They completed college in a time when very few deaf people did, and they did so as mainstreamed students without any support or access services.
  In 1997, the couple established the Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Endowed Scholarship Fund at NTID. The fund benefits NTID/RIT students in good academic standing. In early 2000, the Dyers pledged $2.5 million to fund construction and development of the Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Arts Center at NTID.
  "NTID at RIT is of great importance to the deaf community," says Joseph Dyer. "Helen and I wanted to help support NTID, which has made significant contributions to deaf education, technology and the arts."
  Mr. Dyer attended the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the 1930s and became an engineer for a pharmaceutical company.
  Hailing from Iowa, Mrs. Dyer's father moved to New York City to become an accomplished corporate attorney with many high-level contacts across America. He developed an appreciation for art, which he passed on to his daughter. Mrs. Dyer attended Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, MA., and received her bachelor's degree in sociology from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.
  Helen Dyer, 90, of Delray Beach, FL., passed away on Sept. 9, 2001. She was an avid artist who enjoyed oil painting. "We believe the arts are a large component of a well-rounded college education," Helen Dyer said before her death. "Expression through art for deaf people is especially meaningful and beneficial."
  The Elizabeth W. Williams Gallery is the main gallery of the Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Arts Center, and serves a multitude of functions, including the exhibition of works by various artists, seminars, and hospitality functions for both NTID and RIT.
  The gallery was made possible by a $500,000 gift from long-time NTID supporter, the late Elizabeth "Cookie" Williams.
  Milton H. and Ray B. Ohringer
  The Milton H. and Ray B. Ohringer Gallery is dedicated to improving educational opportunities for deaf and hard-of-hearing young people, Ray Ohringer funded construction of the Milton H. and Ray B. Ohringer Gallery in the Dyer Arts Center. Ray, who retired from IBM after 34 years, lives in New York, NY and Boca Raton, FL. She and her late husband, Milton, who was a certified public accountant, established The Milton H. and Ray B. Ohringer Endowed Scholarship Fund at NTID.
  The Dyer Arts Center was originally designed and set up as an exhibit space to showcase and house art, including temporary exhibits and NTID's Permanent Collection of Art. This is the main priority for the use of the space and like other art galleries on campus, it is not an appropriate venue for general events. Events that are scheduled in the NTID Dyer Arts Center are directly associated with the mission of NTID/RIT and specifically sponsored and paid for by either the RIT or NTID Presidents' or Development Offices. The space is not available to external organizations without the consent of the NTID President. When this consent occurs, then a rental contract is issued through the RIT Office of Special Events.
  The capacity of the NTID Dyer Arts Center varies depending on the size of the exhibit in the space. The RIT Environmental Health & Safety Office has put a limit of 100 people for most gatherings in the space. Any event larger than 100 people must also use the first-floor "street" of the LBJ Hall.
  The Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Arts Center at RIT/NTID welcomes all visitors.
  Except for major institute holidays, summer session, exhibit installations, and scheduled special events, the Gallery's hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00am to 5:00pm, Saturdays from 10am to 2pm, and by appointment.
  The Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Arts Center is a state-of-the-art facility at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. It is located inside the Lyndon Baines Johnson Building. The postal address is 52 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623.
  Turn right onto Brooks Avenue, then a quick right onto I-390 South. From 390, take the next exit (Scottsville Road) and turn right at the end of the ramp. Drive for approximately three miles, then turn left onto Jefferson Road (Route 252). Proceed east a short distance to the second campus entrance. Turn right onto campus at Lowenthal Road at the stop light just before the Radisson Inn.
  Take Exit 46. Immediately after exiting, get on I-390 North and refer to directions below:
  From I-390:
  Take Exit 13 (Hylan Drive). Take a left onto Hylan Dr. and continue north to Jefferson Road (Route 252). Then and take a left at the light. Proceed west a short distance to the main campus. Turn left onto campus at Lowenthal Road at the stop light just after the Radisson Inn.
  At the first stop sign (end of Lowenthal Road), you will be facing Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Hall. Make a left turn onto Andrews Memorial Drive and then a right turn onto Lyon Crescent. There are signs for visitor parking and also twenty minute parking is allowed in designated spaces with flashers turned on. As you enter the front doors of LBJ, the gallery is located on the first floor just off the lobby to the right.
  Journeys: Deaf Refugee Art
  "Journeys: Deaf Refugee Art" showcases an array of experiences that Deaf refugees bring from their home countries in terms of language, culture, and education. The exhibition includes refugee artists from U.S.-based organizations including ThinkSelf, Deaf Can!, Deaf New Americans Inc., and Deaf Refugee Advocacy, along with artwork by well-known Deaf refugee artists of the past, including David Bloch and Igor Kolombatovic, and emerging artist Samareh Harirchian.
  The work of Deaf Canadian Persian painter and sculptor Maryam Hafizirad is on display in the Dyer Arts Center Glassroom. A 2002 graduate of Isfahan University of Fine Arts, Hafizirad had her first exhibition at age 18 in Iran. Her award-winning exhibitions have been featured in Iran, China, Germany, Malaysia, India, and Canada. Her early works were dark in subject and color and depicted Persian classical lore.
  Now available online at our new Omeka site!
  The second exhibit in the "Black is Black: Blackity AF" family, "Generational Oppression" focuses on the traumas and triumphs of being Black in America.
  Palettes of Nature
  Co-curated by Zach Ennis, co-founder of deafgreenthumbs, this exhibit celebrates the natural world and considers the place of humans in it.
  This small exhibit, curated by Teraca Florence, Najma Johnson, Earl Terry and Felicia Williams, reexamines Black Deaf art in response to the continued killings of unarmed Black Americans by law enforcement. An unapologetic celebration of Blackness that also acknowledges the need for survival and happiness, this exhibit demands your attention and consideration.
  Motion: Art
  Featuring submissions from the 2020 Deaf Rochester Film Festival, this online exhibition showcases a broad range of Deaf talent from filmmakers and animators all around the country.
  ASLCORE: Western Art History Timeline
  Deaf Art, Deaf Artists
  Deaf Artists Library Guide
  If you wish to contribute to the Dyer Arts Center with a supporting or memorial gift, you may do so by check or online. Thank you very much for your support of the Joseph F. and Helen C. Dyer Arts Center.