Dear friends,
For many of us, 2021 was a year filled with forward momentum and setbacks, and more than a few hurdles along the way. However, it also proved to be a time of opportunity for Creative Growth, as we found new ways of responding to the needs of our community of artists and working collaboratively to create change. Reflecting on the last twelve months, I’m amazed by what we have been able to accomplish through our collective strength.
Creative Growth artists, board, and staff implemented initiatives to better achieve our mission, with artists often taking the helm. A new Artist Advisory Council has empowered artists to make decisions relevant to their experiences. In the Studio, programs conducted in American Sign Language (ASL) and Spanish took off, reducing language barriers. In the community, Creative Growth artists and staff created and installed an altar at the Dia de los Muertos festival in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood. Peers working at the nexus of art and disability hailing from 30 organizations gathered virtually for our Advancing our Communities symposium to discuss pandemic strategies and share helpful resources. The organization also piloted an artist-in-residence program, providing time, space, and resources for artists to achieve large-scale goals in Creative Growth’s gallery. Artists represented their work at exhibitions in Los Angeles and New York, and Creative Growth’s first book of poetry, The Poem is Telling Me I Remember, was published to much acclaim.
We also welcomed new members to our board, new artists to the program, and, perhaps most importantly, we re-opened our Studio, inviting artists to create together in-person while continuing to offer online programs, ensuring everyone could practice in ways that felt comfortable to them.
Please join me in reflecting on the highlights of 2021 seen here. I can’t wait to see what the Creative Growth community will accomplish in the year ahead.
With gratitude,
Stephen Walrod, Board President
OUTSIDE EXHIBITIONS
4x8-bridges, online exhibition
The Nostalgia Show, Sage Studio, Austin
Vibrant, Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami
Super-Rough, curated by Takashi Murakami, Outsider Art Fair, New York
William Tyler, 6397, New York
Soft Material, NIAD, Richmond
John Martin, pt.2 Gallery, Oakland
Nicole Storm, White Columns, New York
Platform, David Zwirner, online exhibition
Group Exhibition, People’s Barber, Oakland
Outside Forces, Art Enables, Washington DC
The Art of Disability Culture, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto
William Scott, Studio Voltaire, London
Can’t Beat California, Golestani Gallery, Dusseldorf
Interconnected, Southern Exposure, San Francisco
Black American Portraits, LACMA, Los Angeles
Future History: The Katz Legacy, Christie’s, San Francisco
Figure Out: Abstraction in Self-Taught Art, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York
ACQUISITIONS & AWARDS
William Scott, LACMA, Los Angeles
Bruno Decharme’s collection, including Creative Growth artists Judith Scott, Dan Miller, Dwight Mackintosh, Susan Janow, Laura Jo Pierce, Donald Mitchell, Centre Pompidou, Paris
Susan Janow, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn
Throughout its 47 year history, Creative Growth has offered opportunities to almost 500 artists to reach their goals, by providing a supportive studio environment and professional gallery representation. As we move through 2022, we'll continue to offer hybrid programs online and in person programming to meet the needs of our artists, and your support can help sustain us. Please consider giving a gift, and empower Creative Growth artists to successfully achieve their goals.