Leveling the playing field for artists with disabilities.
Not surprisingly, the spirited artists at Creative Diversity (CD) and the studio walls that exhibit their art exude a warm and energetic vibe. This is perceptibly a place where people who are passionate about how they make a living go to work. Louis, the cherished studio Chihuahua, trots around between numerous legs that support easels, people, and shared work tables. The social as well as personal benefits of animals are well documented, and while Louis is not a certified therapy dog, the natural therapeutic benefits of his company are immediately discernable. One can’t help but smile and admire the rhinestone glamour of his sparkle-studded red collar; a plain leather one would be bland, and Louis and the artists at CD are anything but, to which their artwork attests.
Founded in April 2004, Creative Diversity is an integrated art studio dedicated to the advancement of artists with disabilities and the inclusion of those artists in the cultural community. CD opens its doors from 10 am to 4 pm as a working studio so that participants can pursue their labor of love closely with mentoring artists. While each of CD’s fifteen studio artists pays a monthly rate based on their enrollment in other state or local disability programs, any person, for a nominal fee, is welcome to take part in the art experience, with or without a referral from a caseworker or counselor. Creative Diversity welcomes individuals of different abilities — only a sense of humor, passion for the arts, and a clean background check are required, explains Executive Director Deborah Loveall.
Under the direction of Loveall, in concert with volunteers and CD’s partners, the studio supports artists with a diverse range of disabilities such as autism, schizophrenia, cerebral palsy, and brain injury. These individuals express their minds and hearts through a voice not heard but seen. Michael Roberts, who at times has difficulty writing and speaking, was a fledgling artist when he began spending his high school summers at CD. Now his animated paintings of exotic animals fill his studio and are featured prominently in the gallery. His mother, Janice Beatty, explains that CD benefits them both by providing a space outside of home for Roberts to hone his creative abilities under supervision from caring staff who attend to his specific needs. Ever at the behest of the artists, volunteers like Betty Hawkins, devoted to the mission of the organization, sharpen pencils, clean paint brushes; anything that needs to be done to facilitate the ongoing operation of CD. Betty recently left her job and pared down her lifestyle to be able to give more of her time to CD without pay, assisting artists with whom she feels a deep connection — and a shared sense of freedom.
The World Health Organization defines disability concisely: a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives. In 1980, approximately 80,000 physically disabled people were living in Jefferson County. Thirty years later, the number of people living with disabilities continues to increase due to the rise of chronic diseases, injuries, car crashes, violence, and other causes such as longer life expectancy. Everyone experiences some degree of disability — the woman in heels stumbling across a gravel parking lot, the deliveryman with his stack of boxes who can’t open the office door — yet, as painter Ruth Marlatt puts it, “There’s a lot of people that perceive [disability] as dangerous or, you know, just put them away, they’re not supposed to be out in the community.”
This perception is shifting, though, in part due to a pivotal decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. On June 22, 1999, in the case Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W., it rejected the state of Georgia’s appeal to enforce institutionalization of individuals with disabilities and affirmed the right of those individuals to live in their community. Under Title II of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, delivering the opinion of the court, wrote that “states are required to place persons with mental disabilities in community settings rather than in institutions.”
Amy Marlatt, Ruth Marlatt’s sister, recognized the growing need for this sort of community integration and envisioned a place where people with disabilities could gain confidence, explore the creative process, and build meaningful relationships. People in her own life would benefit from such a place; Marlatt’s sister has a mental disability diagnosis and her son has cerebral palsy. Amy’s intent, according to her close friend Deborah Loveall, was to “level the playing field for artists with disabilities, so it wasn’t a matter of teaching people to become artists.” “The idea,” she continues, “was that artists who have that little extra boost of support would be able to take their work to a more professional level.” So Marlatt cashed a small certificate of deposit and signed an initial three-month lease for a space on the second floor of the Mellwood Arts center.
Mellwood didn’t offer enough foot traffic, so the studio relocated to Barrett Avenue near Lynn’s Paradise Café. And although attendance reached an all-time high, and celebrities like Bill Clinton wandered in after lunching at Lynn’s, CD soon outgrew the space. Doubling the square footage to accommodate more artists and equipment wasn’t an option, so it relocated again — this time to the established commercial and residential corridor of Frankfort Avenue.
Loveall credits the area’s arts scene as the primary motivation for selecting their current Ewing Avenue location. CD artists who can’t drive also appreciate the convenient access to public transportation and their homes. Painter Steve Parks is no stranger to traveling long distances; he raced BMX bicycles for 20 years, twice from South Miami to North Detroit. But after suffering a stroke, then recuperating at his sister’s place along LaGrange Road, Parks moved “downtown, because that’s where the gallery is.” He now rides his motorized scooter two miles from his Butchertown apartment to the studio. Meanwhile, Melissa White, Parks’ landlord and fellow artist, takes the bus; he laughs and says, “She passed me this morning.” Overall, the neighborhood has the characteristics of a healthy community: walkability, connectivity, mixed and diverse land use, quality architecture, and increased density. Taken together, these foster a high quality of life, and create places that enrich, uplift, and inspire – the goals of CD.
Creative Diversity does not provide instructional classes per se, but volunteers and local artists work closely with participants and host instructional workshops. For these, CD relies heavily on its partnerships and collaborations with organizations like Metro Arts, and its artist-in-residence, Melissa White. An experienced designer, White holds a MA in Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati and has taught art at several universities. And while Creative Diversity is partially funded through grants from the Kentucky Arts Council, Louisville Metro Government, and other like-minded public organizations, its private and corporate supporters provide the core means through which Creative Diversity and, most importantly, the artists ultimately thrive.
“Art,” says Ruth Marlatt, “is one of those avenues to feel like you’re important. My favorite part is when I feel like I’m a genius. Like when I paint: let’s say I have a project that I’m trying to paint and it’s not turning out well, and I try this and I try that, then I come home and think about it. And I think, ‘Well, maybe this will work better.’ But then, when I’m really into it and doing it with the oils and when it’s starting to turn out really cool and its starting to come along, I’ll say to myself, ‘Man, I’m such a genius,’ because it starts to unravel, the colors and the shapes … really start to come out.”
Creative Diversity also relies on individual gifts to purchase art supplies and support new programs. And because many of the artists have no means of income and live at poverty level, CD turns no one away. It also asks for support from its neighbors and from trolley-hoppers on the FAT Friday Gallery Hops, held the last Friday of every month along Frankfort Avenue, and leases gallery space for community events at an hourly rate in order to generate revenue.
Loveall, a natural promoter and self-described saleswoman, emphasizes that the CD studio and gallery aims to offer artists not only the opportunity to make art, but also to maximize artists’ exposure, providing those who are on a more professional track a venue to display and sell their art and supplement their incomes. The Third Street Neighborhood Association annually designates a booth at the St. James Art Fair for CD, enabling them to attend and sell artists’ wares. CD artists sold close to $1400 of paintings, assemblages and pottery at this year’s fair. In addition, City Café recently exhibited CD artists’ work and the Weber Gallery is holding the ART Halloween Show, a benefit to support the Council on Developmental Disabilities, through November 18th.
For Loveall, there is no greater thrill than selling an artist’s work for the first time. Often the majority of CD participants’ incomes consist of Medicare, Medicaid, disability payments, and other funds designated for specific purposes – mainly healthcare, medicine, and food staples. Steve McGee, for example, a successful watercolor artist, has two grandchildren, ages three and five. He’s planned an outing to the zoo with them, and it’s apparent he’s pleased to be able to pay for the tickets with the proceeds from his art. Michael Roberts, employed part-time with the Louisville Zoo — which offers him an endless source of subjects, from penguins to alligators to sharks — has also been able ,with the support of CD, to consider his art another part-time job. And Parks lists occasionally eating out — on his own dime — one of the perks of participating in the studio.
Before being diagnosed with schizophrenia affective disorder depression type, Ruth Marlatt struggled with difficult issues into her late teens. Schizo-affective disorder is often difficult to diagnose until the later stages and incorrectly or over-medicated, which can aggravate depressive or paranoid tendencies and thought disorder. Betty Hawkins’ daughter was not given the correct diagnosis until age twelve. But recovery from mental and physical impairments is possible, says Marlatt, whose depression has been in remission. As a Certified Peer Support Specialist with Seven Counties for the last four years, Marlatt has led art classes for people with disabilities at five different locations in Louisville. She appreciates that art, healthy communities, and wholehearted volunteers can inspire someone to begin their path to revitalized health. “First I did art at Creative Diversity and then I got into the Peer Support Specialist [profession]. Art was that first step that made me feel that I was worth something, that I could really do something.”
Marlatt and the other artists at CD are representative of numerous people with disabilities in Louisville achieving independent lives. Creative Diversity provides an environment in which people can foster a healthy, mutually supportive community through the simple acts of making friends and creating art. It’s also a place to go looking for the perfect gift; one that is imbued with meaning and humanity.
– Sarah Laster
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