CATA Launches Digital Exhibit Guide
"We're honored to join this renowned, expertly curated arts and culture platform used by museums, galleries, sculpture parks, and cultural spaces around the world," says Margaret Keller, CATA's Executive Director. "CATA was pleased to be invited to join Bloomberg Connects through our participation in the Barr Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative (BKMAI). Our robust digital guide offers a deep dive into CATA's Annual Art Show that puts CATA artists with disabilities on a national stage and expands accessibility in our exhibits. Now anyone can enjoy CATA art right now, from wherever you are."
CATA's digital exhibit guide can be accessed through the free Bloomberg Connects app on a phone or mobile device, as well as through a browser. In CATA's exhibits at the Clark and Lichtenstein, QR codes are available next to select works of art where visitors can access videos, audio guides, and behind-the-scenes content.
Download Bloomberg Connects in the app store to start exploring CATA's exhibit guide, including:
- Video interviews and spotlights with CATA artists with disabilities sharing about their creative process, in their own words.
- Audio tours led by CATA artists and Faculty sharing insights into the exhibits
- Access to stunning paintings, drawings, sculptures, and animated films by CATA artists
- Accessibility resources including image descriptions of artwork, multilingual exhibit guides, Know-Before-You-Go information, and more.
Bloomberg Connects offers free digital guides to cultural organizations around the world. The platform is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies' commitment to supporting digital innovation in the arts. Bloomberg Connects makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices when visiting in person, or anytime from anywhere. With dynamic content exclusive to each partner organization, it provides a range of features including expert commentary, engaging audio content, accessibility features, interactive maps, and is available in over 40 languages through Google Translate.
CATA's Annual Art Show, "I Am a Part of Art," features 300 paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, illustrations and animation by artists with developmental and intellectual disabilities, brain injuries, and autism. The exhibit takes place in partnership with the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, and the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield. Artwork is available for sale, with artists earning a commission for each work sold.
This annual exhibition is the culmination of year-round arts workshops that CATA provides for teens, adults, and elders with disabilities across Berkshire County, Massachusetts and Columbia County, New York. Workshops are expertly designed to enable artists with disabilities to build new skills from week to week and take creative risks in a supportive environment. The exhibit features a wide range of styles, including abstract and representational paintings, drawings, photographs, collage, sculpture, and printmaking, as well as comics, illustration, and stop-motion animation.
"I Am a Part of Art" is sponsored by Berkshire Life Charitable Foundation and Phyllis Patti Klein, with additional support from Berkshire Magazine, Frames on Wheels, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and other generous supporters.
