PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Community Access to the Arts kicked off its annual art show last week, and this year it is more accessible than ever before. 

 

For more than three decades, CATA has been providing artistic opportunities for people with disabilities to tell their stories and perspectives through a wide range of media and performance.  

 

This year's art show, themed "I Am a Part of Art," features 150 works created by CATA artists at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts and 50 more in the Clark Art Institute's Lunder Center at Stone Hill in Williamstown. 

 

The works will be on display in the Lichtenstein Center until Aug. 22 and at the Clark until Sept. 14. 

 

"These exhibits are a culmination of hundreds of workshops where each week CATA artists explore new techniques and express their creativity," Executive Director Margaret Keller said.

 

This year, CATA introduced a new digital guide for the exhibit through the Bloomberg Connects app. 

 

This guide not only showcases the artworks but also provides viewers with behind-the-scenes insights, allowing them to learn more about the exhibit and hear from the artists through video and audio recordings.

 

Bloomberg Connects will allow the organization to expand its opportunities to share work and the voices of CATA artists, even on a national level, Watford said. 

 

The app offers free access to exhibitions, collections, and artists from over 1,000 museums and other cultural organizations, featuring exclusive app-only stories and insights from artists and curators. 

 

The goal of the exhibits is to raise awareness of CATA's mission to nurture and celebrate the creativity of people with disabilities and share their work with the wider community, she said. 

 

"I think any event in the community works great, but when you come in and you see the artistic work from folks with disabilities. It's just amazing," said Mayor Peter Marchetti. 

 

Community members can purchase works, and 50 percent of the proceeds go directly to the individual artists. The other 50 percent helps cover the cost of professionally framing and curating the exhibit. 

 

CATA is an amazing experience and helps artists make new friends, said Samantha Pelletz, artist and exhibit co-curator. 

 

"I think it's great for other people outside of our community to learn about CATA. [Being a curator was] really good, because I learned a little bit more from it than last year. So I was expanding my horizon of curating," she said. 

 

Being part of CATA makes artists feel good and allows them to expand on their previous art experiences, said Kellie Ward, another artist and exhibit co-curator. 

 

"I've loved CATA ever since I found it, and back when I first joined, it was a lot smaller, but it's just grown so much," Ward said. 

 

"And plus that, we were finally able to get our own building, which is so much better than our old space." 

 

There is a strong desire within the community for connection and engagement among neighbors, and this event provides an opportunity for people from diverse backgrounds to meet, appreciate each other's creativity, and learn more about one another, Chris Watford, communications director, said. 

 

"I think people have a hunger to express themselves. Every human being has a desire and a need to express who they are in the world. And I think for many people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, they haven't necessarily had as many opportunities to do that, to express their talents and to say, ‘this is who I am' for the wider community," Keller said.

 

"And I think what we have learned in deepening and expanding opportunities for our CATA artists is how many people have been looking for just such an opportunity and really have so much to share with all of us."