APH InSights 2008, the annual international art competition hosted by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), will be showcased at The Seelbach Hilton Hotel on Thursday, October 2, from 1:00 PM until 6:00 PM, Friday, October 3, 2008 from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM and Saturday, October 4, 2008 from 8:00 AM until noon during the 140th annual meeting of Ex Officio Trustees of APH. Admission to the exhibition is free and the public is invited to meet the artists on Friday, October 3 from 4:15 PM to 5:00 PM. This is the seventeenth year for the competition, which features seventy-eight works by artists from the U. S. and Canada. Participants range from preschool children to senior citizens and include professional artists, as well as hobbyists and school art classes. Entries cover a wide range of subjects in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, and photography:                       The whimsical "Serengeti Migration Vase" by Jane Strohmeier of Cincinnati, Ohio features trees, snakes, giraffes, and other wildlife winding over the surface of this two-foot high clay piece.                       The painting, "Sometimes I Get So Hungry," by Marc Vargas, of Nashville, Tennessee, shows a rather sad and emaciated man reaching for food from an almost-barren tree whose leafless branches hold a single piece of fruit.                       A tall snowman is being built in the picture, "Family Fun," created by a kindergartener from Manlius, New York. The snowman seems to be part of the family. It has a big smile on its face, a colorful scarf, hat, and boots; it appears to dance with the children even as they pile on more snow.            The exhibition includes the first, second, and third place winners chosen in each of the nine categories, along with a selection of other entries. Two judges from Louisville selected the featured works from 425 entries. Awards for APH InSights 2008 will be presented on Friday, October 3 at a special invitation-only ceremony where thirty-five blind or visually impaired artists will be honored, thirteen of them coming to Louisville to receive their awards in person.            APH InSights is organized by the American Printing House for the Blind for visually impaired and blind artists of all ages. The show reflects APH's mission to "promote the independence of blind persons" by encouraging individuals to create original art. For more information about APH Insights 2008 please call (502) 899-2357 or visit www.aph.org.   ABOUT APH: 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of The American Printing House for the Blind. APH is the world's largest company devoted solely to researching, developing, and manufacturing products for people who are blind or visually impaired. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest organization of its kind in the United States. Under the 1879 federal Act to Promote the Education of the Blind, APH is the official supplier of educational materials for visually impaired students in the U.S. who are working at less than college level.

APH manufactures textbooks and magazines in braille, large print, recorded, and computer disc formats. APH also manufactures hundreds of educational, recreational, and daily living products. APH's fully-accessible web site (www.aph.org) features information about APH products and services, online ordering of products, and free information on a wide variety of blindness-related topics. One popular feature of the site is the Louis Database, a free tool to help locate accessible books available from organizations across the U.S. APH products can be ordered through Louis. The American Printing House for the Blind, Inc. is located at 1839 Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. For more information, call (502) 895-2405 or log on to  <http://www.aph.org/> www.aph.org.