— Creative Growth

50 YEARS OF CREATIVE GROWTH TRIUMPHS

A celebration of Creative Growth Art Center's pivotal milestones over the past 50 years, highlighting the journey from a visionary community initiative to a globally recognized art institution.

February 5, 2024

Black and white photograph from around 1976 showing a group of artists engrossed in their work at a large table. Each artist is focused on their own project, with several pots of plants adding a touch of nature to the scene. The environment is busy. — 1974

Creative Growth opens as institutions close, establishing a model for a creative community guided by the principle that art is fundamental to human expression. Founded in the East Bay home of Elias Katz and Florence Ludins-Katz, it set a path for people with disabilities to express themselves and exhibit their work professionally.

Black and white photograph of an expansive, high-ceilinged industrial space from 1980. A classic car is parked on the left, and in the background, two figures are standing near an open garage door, which lets in daylight. — 1980s

Creative Growth moved to its current location on 24th Street, a 12,000 square foot former auto repair shop, marking a new era of expansion and artistic exploration.

Alt text: "Sepia-toned photograph of an elderly man holding up his artwork, which features intricate line drawings of two figures in a car, surrounded by his distinctive, looped handwriting. The man wears a cap and a serious expression. — Late 1980s

Prominent American gallerists and critics took an interest in the drawings of Dwight Mackintosh, a painter who joined Creative Growth at the age of 72 after spending 56 years in psychiatric institutions, heralding a period of increasing recognition for the center's artists.

Black and white photo of artist Judith Scott closely examining a sculptural artwork. She is deeply focused on a large, spherical object made of intertwined materials, possibly yarn or fabric. The detail and texture of the artwork are evident. — 2001

Judith Scott, an artist with Down Syndrome, received worldwide acclaim for her fiber-art sculptures, featured in retrospectives across Chicago, Switzerland, Tokyo, and New York, symbolizing the growing international acclaim for Creative Growth's artists.

A person in black clothing is reaching up to hang a white banner over a concrete building facade. The word 'IMPAIRE' is visible in bold, stencil-like letters above the entrance, with the person partially obscuring the letter 'I.' — 2008

Creative Growth opened Gallerie Impaire in Paris and sees its artists' work included in New York’s MoMA, underscoring a year of significant expansion and recognition.

Light blue tote bag featuring a vibrant illustration of six diverse smiling faces in business attire, with a whimsical cityscape and text elements such as 'INNER LIMITS' and 'Toughest People'. Playful and colorful design. — 2009

Marc by Marc Jacobs featured T-shirts, bags, and wallets designed by Creative Growth artists, blending fashion with art in a groundbreaking collaboration.

A man in a bright yellow 'TENNESSEE' t-shirt sits at a cluttered art table, resting his cheek on his hand with a relaxed, content expression. He gazes directly at the camera, exuding a sense of calm and reflective thought. The background is blurred. — 2014

John Martin is invited to create a site-specific installation at Facebook's Frank Gehry-designed campus, marking a milestone in the center's integration with Silicon Valley's culture of innovation.

Promotional graphic for 'ARTS & EATS OAKLAND', showcasing a stylized drawing of a milkshake with a cherry on top, flanked by the profiles of two people facing towards it. Below, text indicates a collaboration between Oakland Restaurants and CG. — 2015

"The Arts & Eats Cookbook" paired food-inspired art by 16 Creative Growth artists with recipes from over 25 acclaimed Oakland restaurants.

A split image combining two distinct scenes. On the left, a stylized female figure stands against a pink background with graphic line art, priced at $25.00, representing a magazine cover. On the right, a person in a beige jacket painted with faces. — 2016

Creative Growth Magazine published its first issue featuring behind-the-scenes interviews, photos of artists in action, artist-imagined horoscopes, and more.

Colorful product presentation of a Method soap bottle from the Creative Growth Art Collection, featuring a vibrant, abstract design. The bottle is placed against a playful backdrop of diagonally intersecting yellow and red planes with a hint of blue. — 2018

Method soap bottles get a colorful makeover, showcasing Creative Growth's influence on commercial design and its artists' widespread appeal.

A collage of various individuals associated with Creative Growth, an organization that supports artists with disabilities. Each person is creatively dressed and expresses individuality, from the man in the cowboy hat to the woman in a blue headscarf. — 2022

Creative Growth celebrates a decade of Beyond Trend fashions with the launch of filmmaker Cheryl Dunn’s documentary “Beyond i wanna go”
Watch the trailer HERE

Promotional graphic for the 'Into the Brightness' exhibition, featuring works from Creativity Explored, Creative Growth, and NIAD. The background is a vibrant, abstract painting with a dense overlay of colorful patterns and shapes. — 2023

A pivotal moment in Creative Growth's history, its collaboration with the Oakland Museum of California for the "Into the Brightness" exhibition. This exhibition, a highlight in the center's five-decade journey, features a wide array of artworks from artists with developmental disabilities, spanning painting, sculpture, and multimedia. It not only showcases the unique talents of Creative Growth artists but also embodies the center's mission to enhance creativity and alter perceptions of disability. The partnership with the museum brings significant visibility and acclaim to the artists' work, serving as a powerful example of how inclusive art communities can foster dialogue and appreciation. Moreover, the Oakland Museum's acquisition of over 70 artworks from the exhibition has underscored its success, marking OMCA’s largest single-exhibition acquisition to date.

Artistic rendering of a cityscape with a giant gorilla figure standing amidst the buildings, evoking the classic King Kong motif. The urban environment is densely packed with various structures in a multitude of grays, blacks, and whites, punctuated — 2023

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and Creative Growth Art Center announce an unprecedented partnership that honors the emergence of the art and disability movement in the Bay Area and brings to the fore a critical and often overlooked aspect of the region’s artistic richness. Coinciding with Creative Growth’s 50th anniversary, the partnership encompasses the acquisition of more than 100 works created by artists associated with Creative Growth; the development of two exhibitions with Creative Growth artists; and the presentation of a series of events that will be activated over the course of three years.

2024

50 years ago, against a backdrop of political activism and the rising visibility of the disability rights movement, Creative Growth Art Center was founded in Oakland, California, as the first U.S. organization dedicated to supporting artists with developmental disabilities. Today, Creative Growth continues to serve as an international and national model in the field of art and disability.
In honor of Creative Growth’s milestone 50th anniversary and in celebration of SFMOMA’s unprecedented partnership with the organization announced last fall, the museum will present Creative Growth: The House That Art Built. On view from April 6 through October 6, 2024, the exhibition will feature a vibrant selection of recent acquisitions from Creative Growth artists. SFMOMA will concurrently present a major commission by Creative Growth artist William Scott as part of its free art-filled space on the museum’s second floor.
“These extraordinary artists and artworks express a limitless imagination and vision that we hope expands visitors’ understanding of the art that is being made in the Bay Area,” said Jenny Gheith, Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture at SFMOMA. “We are thrilled to better represent work by artists from Creative Growth. This was a long time coming, given what an important role they have played in art conversations in the Bay Area, and we look forward to continuing this important work,” continued Nancy Lim, Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture of SFMOMA.

###