Outside + Inside Museums

Creative Growth: The House That Art Built at SFMOMA

Shawn-Laree O'Neil

and

Daniel X. O'Neil

May 09, 2024

Outside and Inside Museums

We have long been fans of Project Onward here in Chicago. Here's how they describe themselves:

Since 2004, Project Onward has become a leader in the field of disability arts for its innovative blend of accuracy, artistic excellence and social engagement.
https://www.projectonward.org/about

Today we were able to see for ourselves a milestone in the field of disability arts: Creative Growth: The House That Art Built at SFMOMA. This is the intro panel and the show description:

Creative Growth: The House that Art Built Wall Tag

Creative Growth The House That Art Built

This exhibition celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the first organization in the United States dedicated to supporting artists with developmental disabilities. Florence Ludins-Katz, an artist and a teacher, and Elias Katz, a psychologist, opened Creative Growth in Oakland in 1974 against the backdrop of the disability rights movement, which demanded full integration into all aspects of society. The Katzes believed that art was a way forward, and their vision was clear: in a large, shared studio, people with developmental disabilities would express themselves through art, work alongside each other in community, have access to mentors, and engage with the broader art world. The works they made would be presented in exhibitions and sold, with profits shared. In 1982, the organization moved to its current location with overwhelming support from Bay Area artists who donated works for auction, inspiring the Katzes to call Creative Growth “the house that art built.”

The Katzes expanded on this model, founding NIAD (Nurturing Independence through Artistic Development) in Richmond in 1982 and Creativity Explored in San Francisco in 1983. These spaces now serve as leaders in the field of art and disability, and participating artists have had an enormous impact on the cultural richness of the Bay Area. Today, more than 140 artists work at Creative Growth, and this presentation features eleven of those whose artworks were recently acquired by SFMOMA as part of a historic partnership. Using every medium, from painting and drawing to ceramics, wood, fiber, digital media, and printmaking, their practices exemplify what the Katzes expressed in their founding documents: “Creativity is a vital living force within each individual.”

This exhibition is co-organized by Jenny Gheith, Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture, and Nancy Lim, Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture, with Auriel Garza, Curatorial Assistant of Painting and Sculpture.
Lead support for Creative Growth: The House That Art Built is provided by Randi and Bob Fisher and Diana Nelson and John Atwater.
Major support is provided by Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich.
Significant support is provided by Mary Jane Elmore.
Meaningful support is provided by Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg, Maryellen and Frank Herringer, and Alison Pincus.
Community support is provided by Jeff and Karen Banks, Tom di Maria, KAWS, Douglas O. Robson, Jane Timberlake and Taylor Walker, and Stephen Walrod and Lauren Mcintosh.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ngV2rWXP71KxvfHM9

The exhibition includes work by the artist Donald Mitchell.

Here's a piece from Mitchell that we picked up recently at the Felix Fair.

We were in the Bay Area mainly because Dan was attending the Othering and Belonging Conference in Oakland. The Creative Growth show is an excellent example of full integration and belonging: artists of all backgrounds and experience do belong everywhere, including museums.

Today's New York Times frames it well: At SFMOMA, Disability Artwork Makes History

One of our favorite Outsider art galleries Yukiko Koide Presents, reflected today on the milestone:

Twenty-three years ago, when we first organized the solo exhibition of Judith Scott (1943–2005) at Shiseido Gallery in Tokyo, 2001, the circumstances were different. At that time society wasn't yet mature enough, or prepared to include and appreciate non-standard art like hers on a par with other artworks. Most art professionals were hesitant to see her works as art, but as something queer, or not-normal. At that time, Judith Scott was an unknown middle-aged woman with Down syndrome and also deaf. She started to create obscure fiber objects at the age of 46, only after she was taken to Creative Growth Art Center by her twin sister Joyce. In the more than two decades since then, her works have gained global recognition, and last year San Francisco Museum of Modern Art acquired 114 works by 10 artists with disabilities including Judith Scott.
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We were blown away by the show at SFMoma and we're so grateful for the artists, gallerists, and activists who have been doing this work for so long.

New Art & Culture / SLDXO

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