First Friday to Kick off Autism Awareness Month
April 3rd | 5:00–8:30 PM
Join us this First Friday for Autism Awareness Month with Joseph “JJ” Roach of JJ Roach Art.
JJ is a multi-award-winning artist whose bold, expressive work captures how he experiences the world through powerful color, contrast, and emotion. Diagnosed with autism, JJ was often overlooked in school, but found his voice through art and never looked back.
Today, his work has earned major recognition, including:
2025 Kennedy Center Emerging Young Artist
National First Place at the Marblehead MA Art Association 2026 - photography and graphics, picture included Achromatopsia- JJ's description below
Multiple honors at Art of the State (including 1st Place, Works on Paper) 2022, 2023, 2024
Come meet JJ in person, watch him create live, and experience his newest artwork up close. His pieces aren’t just seen they’re felt and they tell a story of resilience, perspective, and finding beauty in being different.
Celebrate Autism Awareness Month by supporting an artist who is redefining what’s possible.
For those wondering about the title: Achromatopsia is a condition in which the world is seen only in shades of black, white, and gray. The fish in the piece is the cave born blind fish, a species that navigates the depths without sight, sensing the world around it through other means.
The image is meant as a symbolic reminder that even when we face limitations, whether in health, body, sight, or mind. We still have the power to adapt, grow, and overcome with what we already carry within us.