By Jill E. Scheibler, PhD, ATR-BC, LCPAT | April 2, 2016 | #WeAreArtTherapists
Since the early 1970s, April has been recognized as Autism Awareness Month and, more recently, it has been additionally or alternatively celebrated as Autism Acceptance Month[1]. In his official proclamation for this year’s World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd, President Obama observed:
“From home to school and in businesses and communities around the world, people living with autism spectrum disorder contribute in immeasurable ways to our society. They remind us each day that every person is born with unique talents and should be treated with respect, play an active role in planning for their futures, and feel empowered to fully participate in and contribute to their communities. When those with autism have access to equal opportunities, we all do better, and that begins with making sure our country lives up to its commitment to ensure all things are possible for all people.”
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- A “typical” scene from the studio: Program Associate, Carolyn Shayte, visiting intern from Austria, Nadine Handschuh, and four participating artists — Gary Schmedes, Jerry Williams, Louis Middleton, Jr., and Aimee Eliason — agree to take a break and “cheese” for the camera. (Left to right: Gary, Carolyn, Nadine, Jerry, Louis, & Aimee)
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- Artist Tyrone Weedon with a completed painting titled “Hope Comes in Fives.”
All of us at Make Studio could not agree more with those sentiments. Even since our founding, by two art therapists – myself and Cathy Goucher, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT – and graphic designer/social worker Stefan Bauschmid, we have embraced an obligation to promote the interests and talents of individuals with disabilities, towards the ends of improving quality of life for all people. For Make Studio’s creative community of artists and staff, autism awareness and acceptance is on our minds 365 days a year.
Located in Baltimore, MD, Make Studio is the only organization in our area that is solely focused on providing professional-level arts experiences to people with disabilities. Our studio program was founded in 2010 with the guiding aims of bringing positive attention to artists with disabilities and supporting their development of translatable skills for meaningful employment and higher educational experiences. We serve artists who have great drive and vision, but face social and logistical barriers to starting a sustainable arts practice on their own. We were inspired by the “art center for persons with disabilities” model, originated in the 1980s by Dr. Elias Katz and Florence Ludins-Katz in California, now put into practice by at least 50 programs in the U.S. and overseas[2]. Today, Make Studio offers both our studio program and ongoing public programming (e.g., exhibitions, lectures, workshops) for people of all abilities within our Schwing Art Center, a historic building in the quirky Hampden neighborhood. (We hope you will all visit us here in July for Night on the Town during this year’s AATA conference!)
Over the past five years we have continuously served participating artists (now 30 in number; 60-70% are on the spectrum) within a professionally-equipped studio that is comparable to other fine artists’ studios rather than traditional disabilities services settings. Staff do not “teach art” or provide art therapy[3], but facilitate the development of individuals’ own styles and provide mentorship in marketing strategies to enable sales. The studio itself – as a physical and relational space—is conceptualized as a creative, accepting, and fully inclusive community. To that end, the physical space is structured to accommodate varied sensitivities and differences of expression, including those that are perhaps more common for people on the spectrum (e.g., sensitivity to light and noise; the desire to self-stimulate, pace, or swing arms). Further, it is communicated to artists and all who enter our space that individuals with many varied abilities and challenges – with “visible” disabilities or otherwise – are present. We consciously maintain a community that welcomes and is understanding of these differences. Participating artists are not expected to all be friends, but to be respectful and collegial.
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- “Baltimore City,” a mixed media piece by artist Alex Albert.
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- Make Studio’s art center in Hampden, Baltimore.
Make Studio is by no means perfect, but we follow our artists’ lead and strive to frame our milieu in keeping with our collective expectations for the more inclusive world that should be. Therefore we favor celebrating Autism Acceptance and invite readers to learn more about this movement. At the same time, we respect and support those who celebrate the preexisting push for Autism Awareness (or want to do both), and encourage them to learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and to share what they’ve learned throughout the year!
Exhibition graphic featuring artwork by artists Tony Labate and Aimee Eliason
In honor of acceptance and awareness this year, we’re mounting Attention, Please!, an exhibition showcasing the distinctive voices and aesthetics of our participating artists on the autism spectrum, as well as other ASD artists from our local communities. If you happen to be in the Baltimore area between April 14-May 5, please stop by and give all of these artists and their work your full attention! In partnership with Pathfinders for Autism, Make Studio will host a reception and lecture by professor and autistic self-advocate Zosia Zaks on April 30, 1-3PM.
[1] www.autismacceptancemonth.com
[2] Ludins-Katz, F. & Katz, E. (1990). Art and Disabilities: Establishing the Creative Art Center for People with Disabilities. Cambridge, MA: Brookline. www.disparateminds.org
[3] Make Studio’s staff with art therapy backgrounds (two credentialed art therapists and one supervised, graduate-level art therapy intern each year) provide individual art therapy services as a stand-alone service to a small number of clients that contract with our organization. These services are consciously kept entirely separate from our studio program.