A chance to share unique view
Girl gets Make-a-wish dream of having a museum exhibit of her works
Esmé Savoie is a medically complex 11-year-old girl who is nonverbal, yet found a way to communicate her stories about the power of magic through special technology.
Esmé was born with multiple conditions that inhibited her ability to eat, walk and speak. Despite her challenges, she gained a passion for reading and wanted to share her view of life with the world.
The Savoie family connected with Make-a-wish Northeast New York four years ago, but it took a while to figure out what Esmé’s wish would be since she is nonverbal.
After a hard-fought battle to get it, her parents secured her an Eyegaze device, which allows people with limited ability to communicate to use their eyes to type words.
Her home teacher, Kayleigh Wiltey, taught her about what wishes were and how to use the device.
It was through this medium that Esmé was able not only to
create stories but also to ex
press what her wish was: to have her own museum exhibit.
“We have never done something like this before,” said Mark Mcguire, director of marketing and communications at Makea-wish Northeast New York. “This is the first time we’ve had a child wish for a museum exhibit.”
She wanted to create the Esmé Museum, a place where people can come experience life through her lens and the stories she writes.
“We have been very open about Esmé’s experiences, and our feeling is that she is a helper in this world and her experiences have been able to help other people,” said Hillary Savoie, Esmé’s mother. “That’s what we’re celebrating; she’s helping other people and now we can give her a moment to be seen as the extraordinary little girl she is.”
“Wishes, whether they are to go on a trip to Walt Disney World Resort, have a backyard play set, meet a celebrity or any of the other nearly endless options, all have one thing in common: They are driven by a child’s imagination,” said William C. Trigg III, CEO of Make-a-wish Northeast New York. “This exhibit, the first of its kind for the chapter, illustrates the beautiful mind of Esmé, and the boundless possibilities a wish can offer.”
The exhibit opening this week at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy is called “Esmé’s Stories: A Magical Journey,” and it will feature artwork created by artists such as Royal Brown, Toast Halasz and Shanelle Carter-maddox, who is an Arts Center board member. Other contributing artists include Jing Agunzo, Isabella Burnett, Cynthia Fiorini and Kim Tateo.
Jocelyn and Chris, a brother and sister bluesrock duo from upstate New York, will perform a song they created for Esmé’s exhibit.
“I’m honored to present such an inspirational, rewarding and amazing experience to Esmé, her family, friends and our community,” said Belinda Colon, the Art Center’s curator of exhibitions and public art.