16 Oct CATA HOSTS VIRTUAL “MEET THE ARTISTS” RECEPTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2020
Contact: Chris Watford
(413) 528-5485
Digital images available here
CATA HOSTS VIRTUAL “MEET THE ARTISTS” RECEPTION, LAUNCHES MULTIMEDIA EXHIBIT WITH CLARK ART INSTITUTE—featuring work by more than 50 local artists with disabilities
GREAT BARRINGTON, MA— Community Access to the Arts (CATA) has launched an online, multimedia art exhibit in conjunction with its Annual Art Show I Am a Part of Art at the Clark Art Institute. The exhibit, on display at the Clark and also available for free at CATAarts.org, features more than 50 paintings and drawings by local artists with disabilities, along with video commentary from CATA artists and guest curators, including Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute.
A free, online “Meet the Artists” reception will be held on Thursday, October 22 at 4pm. The half-hour event will feature interviews with CATA artists, curators from the Clark, and a behind-the-scenes tour of the exhibit. Attendees may RSVP for the reception at CATAarts.org.
“We’re thrilled to continue CATA’s partnership with the Clark Art Institute—in person and online.” says Margaret Keller, CATA Executive Director. “The online gallery is a perfect complement to our Annual Art Show, which is hanging in person at the Clark’s Lunder Center. Our online ‘Art Talk’ videos add a whole new dimension to this year’s exhibit, with CATA artists reflecting on their creative process and guest curators sharing insights into their favorite pieces.”
The virtual component includes 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. In addition to the virtual exhibit, CATA’s Annual Art Show is on view at the Clark Art Institute’s Lunder Center at Stone Hill through October 25.
Each work in the exhibit was created in 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, Massachusetts and Columbia County, New York 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.
About Community Access to the Arts: Community Access to the Arts (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, Massachusetts and Columbia County, New York. Learn more at CATAarts.org.
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