Artists Undeterred: Boldly Exploring Disability
- Editor's Note from MANDEM -
Artists Undeterred: Boldly Exploring Disability, a disabled-curated exhibit of disabled art, premiered at the Pride Center of Staten Island gallery in New York on August 11, 2018. We were honored to be among the artists selected for this exhibit by curators Milenka Berengolc and Margaret Chase, showing two paintings from our own Hypermobility series. In this issue, we have a selection of exhibited works from artists Laura Cowley, Rosary Solimanto, Anjum Malik, Ani Schreiber, Patti Durr, Kathryne Husk, and Anthony Tusler.
You can learn more about Artists Undeterred in this article from the Staten Island Advance, from the Staten Island Pride Center gallery website, and from the Artists Undeterred Facebook Page.
Exhibit Curator Statement (Milenka Berengolc and Margaret Chase)
Artists Undeterred: boldly exploring disability is a forum for disabled artists who exemplify boldness and determination, and provides an expanded frame of reference for general audiences. It will increase accessibility for witnessing art by, and dialogue with, disabled artists, by attracting a diverse audience, via art exhibitions, performances, and conversations in accessible venues. Inclusion, awareness, and visibility drive the project, and the intention to initiate public dialogue around issues of art/disability/accessibility. We will also inspire and educate local artists with disabilities, and youth. The project will explore the multi-faceted relationship of disability vis-à-vis contemporary art, through the lens of creators and producers who are disabled and whose work addresses disability.
There is now a wave of galvanizing energy surrounding considerations of disability artistry, identity, aesthetics, and practice. New York City’s resources for disabled artists are often Manhattan-based. The proposed project will highlight Staten Island Arts, the Pride Center of SI, Snug Harbor/Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, and the borough, as active, creative stakeholders and advocates in the timely conversation about how artists with disabilities may be supported and their creative work showcased, to the benefit of all.
Artists Undeterred is made possible in part by a DCA Art Fund Grant from Staten Island Arts, with public funding from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.