GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Community Access to the Arts (CATA) presents its annual art show "I Am a Part of Art" at the Clark Art Institute featuring more than 50 paintings and drawings by artists with disabilities from across Berkshire County and Columbia County, N.Y.

 

The exhibit hangs at the Clark Art Institute's Lunder Center at Stone Hill from Aug. 29 through Oct. 25. An online, multimedia version of the exhibit will launch in mid-September at CATAarts.org. The virtual component will include behind-the-scenes photos, video commentary from CATA artists, and digital "art talks" from guest curators at the Clark Art Institute and Community Access to the Arts.

 

"‘I Am a Part of Art' offers a window into the imagination of artists with disabilities," CATA Executive Director Margaret Keller said. "We're thrilled to continue CATA's partnership with the Clark Art Institute and share the incredible talents of CATA artists with the community—in-person and online." 

 

Each work in the exhibit was created through Community Access to the Arts' year-round workshops serving teens, adults, and elders with disabilities. Works are professionally matted and framed, and all pieces are available for sale, with proceeds providing commissions to the individual artists. The curated exhibit features a wide range of styles, including abstract and representational paintings, drawings, collage, and printmaking in a variety of media including acrylic, tempera, watercolor, pastel, and mixed media.

 

This annual exhibition is the culmination of hundreds of visual arts workshops that CATA holds throughout the year across Berkshire County and Columbia County in day programs, residences, schools, elder care settings, and in the CATA Studio. Through these year-round workshops, CATA artists with disabilities grow creatively, learn new techniques, and find community working side by side with others. Since the coronavirus pandemic caused CATA programs to move online in March, CATA has delivered care packages of art supplies to artists with disabilities, so they could continue to connect and tap into their talents in virtual arts workshops. Several of the works in this exhibit were created during this period.

 

"I Am a Part of Art" is sponsored by Berkshire Life Charitable Foundation, Berkshire Magazine, Frames on Wheels, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and other generous supporters.

 

CATA nurtures and celebrates the creativity of people with disabilities. Through dynamic arts workshops and public events, CATA artists tap into their potential, explore new talents, and share their unique points of view with the wider community. CATA collaborates with 50 partner organizations to bring visual and performing arts programs to 800 people with disabilities across Berkshire County Columbia County.