When Metro State student Sotero Burciaga was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he says, “It changed my life completely. I lost my sight, memory, balance (and more).”

Until recently, Burciaga had been in remission for six years. Now, he no longer has control of his right arm. Uncontrollable tremors prevent him from writing, sculpting, drawing and doing normal things like drinking a cup of coffee.

“I have now trained my left hand to do everything my right used to do,” he says. “The look and feel of my artwork has changed a little, but I do not let my MS control me.

Burciaga is one of the artists whose work will be exhibited throughout October in the exhibition Auraria Art-Ability.

Showing in both the Tivoli multicultural lounge and the Auraria Library, Art-Ability is an exhibition of art by Auraria students, faculty and staff living with disabilities.

An artist’s reception is being held Thursday, Oct. 2, from 2-4 p.m. in the Tivoli and 4-6 p.m. in the library.

The exhibition, the fourth annual, has grown every year since its inception, according to Julie Rummel Mancuso, assistant director of Campus Recreation. “The first time we did it, we never thought it would be annual. But the profound effects of the exhibition, both on viewers and on the artists, have been so powerful, we decided to continue.” The exhibition has grown to the extent that a second venue had to be added this year.

“It’s win-win,” Rummel Mancuso adds. “It’s therapeutic for the artists to be seen and heard in this way, and educational for the viewers to see the art and learn the stories of the artists. It really does promote greater understanding.”

Burciaga concurs. “My artwork has already inspired me to push harder and it always will.”