Creative Growth Artists Featured | Levi Strauss & Co. Collaboration

We’ve teamed up with Levi Strauss & Co. to create one-of-a-kind customized items from the artists at Creative Growth. The items, ranging from Levi’s® tote bags to baseball caps and even denim aprons, were worked on by the following artists: Juan Aguilera Joseph Alef Francisco Andrade Casey Byrnes Lauren Dare Sher-ron Freeman Rosa Giron Peggy Gomez-Guardado Stephanie Hill Jane Kassner Allan Lofberg John Martin Annika Miller Latefa Noorzai Lulu Sotelo Tanisha Warren

*Levi's® Logo Artwork by Ray Vickers

These items, in turn, are being auctioned off at a private event at the company’s global headquarters. Each employee will have the chance to bid on the beautifully unique items for a chance to take one home. Levi’s® roots itself in the values of giving back and engaging with the local community; what better way than with the artists of Creative Growth.

EVENT CALENDAR 2016

Get out your social calendar and save the date, we guarantee that whether you're local or living abroad, you won't want to miss these Creative Growth related events! Use this calendar as a look ahead at confirmed events, and as details solidify we will be sure to keep you informed. 

CURRENT & UPCOMING

Onsite Exhibitions and Programs  

Holiday 2016: Revel
This annual event brings you incredible Studio sale finds and original artwork from over 100 artists! Take home one-of-a-kind textiles and customized furniture, ceramics, rugs, mosaics, wood, drawings and paintings, prints and more.
December 2, 2016 – January 12, 2017

Outside Exhibitions

Ontario, Canada — Oakville Galleries
Solo show of Judith Scott's work.
September 25 – December 30, 2016

Sheboygan, WI — John Michael Kohler Arts Center
"Escape Routes"- Curated by Amy Chaloupka, 12 works by Creative Growth artist Dan Miller are included in this group exhibition highlighting artists whose work explores escapist tendencies.
October 2, 2016 – January 22, 2017

Bonn, Germany — Bundeskunsthalle (Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany)
Curated by an interdisciplinary team of academics, this group exhibition is actively supported and co-curated by people with Down's syndrome and includes work by Creative Growth artist Judith Scott.
October 28, 2016 – February 12, 2017

Düsseldorf, Germany — Direct Art Gallery
“American Dream”- During this year’s joint gallery weekend “Kunst in der Carlstadt,” this exhibition features work by Dan Miller, Dwight Mackintosh and Donald Mitchell.
November 4 – December 22, 2016

San Francisco, CA — 836M
"Home"- An exhibition of depictions of new worlds or homes that will include William Scott’s take on a more “wholesome” San Francisco, that will also feature his notions for public housing projects.
December 19th, 2016 – January 27th, 2017

PAST

San Francisco, CA — 836M
"Large Drawings"- Part two of an exhibition series, 836M features large-scale drawings by Dan Miller and other Creative Growth artists.
October 24– December 9, 2016

San Francisco, CA — SFO Museum - Terminal 3 - Level 2
"Celebrating a Vision - Art and Disability"
March 12 – December 4, 2016

Miami Beach, FL- Deauville Beach Resort — NADA Art Fair
Visit Creative Growth's booth at this renowned art fair exploring new or underexposed art that is not typical of the “art establishment.”
December 1–4, 2016

Oakland, CA- Slide Space 123
"Valegro"- A group show, featuring work by John Hiltunen, explores how humans and animals live with and use each other, how we cope with the world together at the intersection of empathy and projection.
November 3– December 2, 2016

The Curiosity Cabinet — Creative Growth Art Center
A participatory workshop that features the prints department and invites viewers to add to the “cabinet of curiosities” with a drawing, screenprint, or risograph print.
October 27 – November 12, 2016

Paris, France- Hôtel du Duc — Outsider Art Fair
October 20– October 23, 2016

Binaries — Creative Growth Art Center
A study in formal opposites; aesthetic components are juxtaposed alongside one another. Black vs. white; up vs. down; material vs. immaterial. Also in light of the presidential election, we highlight the political binary of Republican vs. Democrat with presidential portraits by Allan Lofberg and other artists’ interpretations and observations on our system of government.
September 8 – October 20, 2016

Los Angeles, CA- Diane Rosenstein Gallery
"Click"- Solo show of Dan Miller's paintings and drawings.
September 10 – October 14, 2016

San Francisco, CA- 836M
"Common Threads"- An exhibition highlighting Creative Growth's fiber arts and fashion projects.
September 12 – October 14, 2016

Casale Monferrato, Italy — Casale Monferrato Castle
Group show featuring works from the private collection of Fabio Cei, including Creative Growth artists George Wilson and Donald Mitchell.
September 17 – October 15, 2016

San Francisco, CA — Minnesota Street Project
"After Pop Life"- Organized by critic and curator Glen Helfand, this exhibition pays tribute to Prince with works by more than thirty contemporary artists, including Creative Growth artist William Scott.
September 14 – October 1, 2016

Portland, OR — Ampersand Gallery & Fine Books
"Franklin, A Word Nobody Ever Seems To Say"- Curated by Myles Haselhort, Creative Growth artist Cedric Johnson makes his debut in his first solo exhibition highlighting his signature abstract drawings and ceramic masks.
August 25 – September 25, 2016

Amagansett, NY — Karma
"Outside"- Curated by Matthew Higgs, this group show features Creative Growth artists John Hiltunen, Dwight Mackintosh, Aurie Ramirez, William Scott, and William Tyler.
September 3 – September 25, 2016

New York, NY- MoMA PS1 — Printed Matter’s New York Art Book Fair
Books For All debuts the first published reproduction of John Hiltunen’s collage book in an edition of 500. Other original book works by Hiltunen will also be presented.
September 16 – 18, 2016

Pop-in@Nordstrom x Vans x Creative Growth
Olivia Kim, Director of Creative Projects for Nordstrom, invited Creative Growth artists to collaborate as Pop-In@Nordstrom celebrates the 50th anniversary of Vans, the iconic skateboarding and lifestyle shoe company.
August 5– September 4, 2016

Los Angeles, CA — Good Luck Gallery
"Mapping Fictions"- Curated by Andreana Donahue and Tim Ortiz of Disparate Minds, this four-person show included the work of Creative Growth artist William Scott.
July 9 – August 27, 2016

Redux — Creative Growth Art Center
July 1 – August 19, 2016

San Francisco Art Book — Fair Minnesota Street Projects
July 22 – July 24, 2016

Peres Projects, Berlin
Wild Style: Exhibition of Figurative Art, including early paintings by Creative Growth artist Dwight Mackintosh
June 10 – August 5, 2016

Home 2016: Where Horror Meets Hilarity Meets Adventure — Creative Growth Art Center
May 6 – June 17, 2016

The 2015 Wynn Newhouse Awards Exhibition
The Palitz Gallery at Syracuse University Lubin House, New York Curated by Andrew Saluti featuring work by 2015 award recipient Dan Miller.
April 19 – May 15, 2016

Judith Scott - Bound and Unbound
Aspen Museum of Art
March 11 - July 10, 2016

Creative Growth x Vans 50th Anniversary Pop-In at Nordstrom | August 5-September 4

Olivia Kim, Director of Creative Projects for Nordstrom, invited Creative Growth artists to collaborate as Pop-In@Nordstrom celebrates the 50th anniversary of Vans, the iconic skateboarding and lifestyle shoe company.

Creative Growth artists have hand drawn, painted and stitched limited edition sneakers -- styles like the Slip-On, Old Skool and Sk8-Hi -- adding a joyful and avant-garde vibe to the classic shoe. Vans styles are on sale from August 5 to September 4 at Pop-In@Nordstrom!

Creative Growth is super-stoked to be part of this anniversary project!

AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN SELECTED STORES:

CALIFORNIA San Francisco San Francisco Centre

WASHINGTON Bellevue Bellevue Square

Seattle Downtown Seattle

Participating artists include:

Angela Archuleta Barbara Mealey Carrie Oyama Casey Byrnes Cedric Johnson Dan Miller Dinah Shapiro Donald Mitchell Edwards Walters Emily Dunster Farey John Hiltunen John Mullins Joseph Alef Juan Aguilera Kim Clark Lulu Sotelo Maureen Clay Nick Pagan Nicole Storm Ray Vickers Sherrie Aradanas Sherron Freeman Stephanie Nguyen Ying Ge Zhou

Thank you to:

for their generous donation of shoes for this collaboration

for donating the proceeds of sales to support Creative Growth artists and programs.

Vans Off the Wall artwork by John Martin

The Incredible Story of Joyce and Judith Scott: Entwined--Buy Your Copy Here!

Entwined is the story of Creative Growth artist Judith Scott, who was institutionalized for more than thirty years before being rescued by her sister. A personal narrative that explores the complex world of disability, loss, reunion, and resiliency of the human spirit. Written by Judith's twin sister, Joyce Wallace Scott. Available in the Creative Growth gallery and online here.

Dan Miller Receives Wynn Newhouse Award

Wynn Newhouse Awards Exhibition now open at Palitz Gallery

Awards highlight the achievements of artists of excellence who happen to have disabilities

New York, NY – The ninth annual Wynn Newhouse Awards Exhibition opened April 18, at Palitz Gallery located in Syracuse University’s Lubin House at 11 East 61^st Street, New York City. Palitz Gallery proudly hosts the exhibition that was created to draw attention to the achievements of artists of excellence who happen to have disabilities, for its sixth year. Exhibition hours are Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Contact 212-826-0320 or lubin@syr.edu for more information. The exhibition runs through May 15^th.

Each of the award winners receive a portion of a $60,000 per year allotment from the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation and this year 15 works including watercolor, works on paper, acrylic on canvas and mixed media will be on display. The grant winners include Derrick Alexis Coard, CourttneyCooper, Nick Dupree, Carolyn Lazard, Dan Miller, Alice Sheppard and Constantina Zavitsanos.

Nearly half of the artists in this exhibition are represented by organizations that support artists with disabilities. Each of these organizations know that the artists they nurture can excel and make work as incisive, challenging to viewers and experiential as any able-bodied artist. Healing Arts Initiative, who works with Derrick Alexis Coard, exists to remove barriers to arts and culture. Dan Miller is represented by Creative Growth Art Center an organization that serves adult artists with developmental, mental and physical disabilities while providing a professional studio environment for artistic development. Visionaries + Voices emerged in 2001 and in 2003 became a full non-profit that organizes shows and presents the work of artists with disabilities. V+V is now a home for hundreds of artists in and around Cincinnati including Courttney Cooper.

Beyond Trend SUCCESS | Thank You For Your Support!

The Creative Growth 6th annual Beyond Trend Runway Event & Fundraiser was a great success! With your support we exceeded our fundraising goal on the night of the event while collectively celebrating the visionary style of the Creative Growth artists on the runway! If you missed Beyond Trend in person this year, there is still time to contribute to over 150 artists with disabilities and their studio program. Every dollar we raise during this time goes towards our Beyond Trend goal. We look forward to seeing you in the Creative Growth gallery very soon or if you are out of town please find our limited edition artist merchandise online here.  Thank you for becoming part of the Creative Growth community--your support makes all of this work possible.

Thank you to our incredible sponsors and collaborators:

TARGET is the Beyond Trend Platinum Presenting Sponsor

Major Sponsors Mark di Suvero Anonymous

Honorary Event Chairs Kim Hastreiter, Paige Powell and Alice Waters

Runway Chairs Chad Graff and Joann Falkenburg Dinner Chairs Jane Timberlake and Taylor Walker Creative Design Chair Lauren McIntosh Walrod

Table Hosts & Sponsors Chad Graff and Joann Falkenburg, Dee Hoover and Stephen Beal, Jane Timberlake and Taylor Walker, Jennifer and Colin Cooper, Kim Hastreiter, Levi Strauss & Company, Old Navy, Stephen Walrod and Lauren McIntosh Walrod

Musical Guest Pink Martini

Guest Emcee Frank Somerville

Fashion Hosts Ben and Chris Ospital

Runway Team Karen Anderson, Liz Baca, Rachel Cubra, Anne Hartford, Creative Growth Artists

Chefs Charlie Hallowell, Pizzaiolo Cal Peternell, Chez Panisse

Aesop Andronico’s Beaune Imports Bellwether Farms Blueprint Studios, Allison Staley Brokaw Farms Cannard Farm Canopy Floral, Haia Sophia California Olive Ranch Carly Roemmer Cheryl Dunn Chez Pannise Chris Kronner Creative Growth Studio Artists Creative Growth Volunteer Team Creative Growth Decor Team Djinti Edda Cortez Events by Collette, Collette Simko-Knauss Fort Point Beer Co. Grace Street Catering, Allison Etchison Guest Models: Sonja Walters Brittney Cade Fitch Ball KC Bull Clara Yoon David Wilson Lovage Sharrock Brandon Giordano Lyssandra Guerra Camille Kohr Zoe Walker Georgia Brooks Phoenix Libsch Terri Loewenthal Monica Canilao Turf Dancers: iDummy Johnny 5 Guittard Chocolate Company Harper Paige Salon: Daniela Saavedra and Ceci Coon Heath Ceramics Immersive Liberty Farm Lightwaves Make-Up Team: Ralph R. Kasey III Alise Jacoboni Daniel Jaujou Mark di Suvero Marquee Salon: Ocean Edgar Jenny Lund Sarah Schiek Melissa Kaseman Nina Parker Oakland Marriott Oakland Museum of California, Catherine Kitz Ordinaire Pizzaiolo Public Bikes Riverdog Farm Sandra Poindexter & Friends Scribe Winery Solstice Press Sprouts Farmers Market St. George Spirits Stella Ishii and 6397 Team at The News Studio Instrument Rentals Terri Loewenthal Vans Visit Oakland

Creative Growth Magazine | Issue Number One

Creative Growth Magazine, Issue Number One

Creative Growth Magazine is a new publication created by the artists, staff, and volunteers of Creative Growth, this full-color, 150+ page issue is packed with images, stories, and interviews. Get your copy and then gift one to a friend.

Available now at the Creative Growth Gallery store, Online Shop and at selected retail outlets.

Beyond Trend 2016 | Press Release

PRESS RELEASE / EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Media Contact: Jennifer O’Neal jennifer@www.creativegrowth.org 510-836-2340 x 20

February 18, 2016 — Oakland’s Creative Growth Art Center announces the 6th Annual Beyond Trend Runway Event and Fundraiser, Saturday, April 23, 6:00 – 9:00 pm, at the Oakland Museum of California.

Creative Growth, an internationally celebrated studio and gallery for artists with disabilities presents the Beyond Trend Runway Event & Fundraiser. This much anticipated and historically sold-out event provides critical annual support to the Center’s visionary community of over 150 artists.

Beyond Trend presents a one of kind, unscripted, couture fashion performance, featuring artists from the Creative Growth studio and their designs, alongside a social event weaving together art, fashion, music and notable Bay Area cuisine. For the first time the fundraiser will be held at the Oakland Museum of California. Tickets are available from $50 to $500.

Recently the subject of a New York Times Magazine feature, Creative Growth has partnered with the world’s leading designers, contemporary artists and galleries in order to advance the artwork of people with disabilities within the contemporary art world. Works from the organization’s artists are included in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, along with notable collections worldwide.

A newly added dinner and private concert will feature a menu by celebrated chefs Alice Waters and Cal Peternell of Chez Panisse and Charlie Hallowell of Pizzaiolo. The Beyond Trend Host Committee includes Paper Magazine editor-in-chief, Kim Hastreiter, photographer and Warhol collaborator Paige Powell as well as local San Francisco, high fashion innovators Ben and Chris Ospital of Modern Appealing Clothing. The post-runway show dinner features an exclusive concert by one of the world’s most elegant live bands, Pink Martini.

Runway event tickets are $50 - $175 Tickets may be purchased starting March 11 at www.creativegrowth.org

Reservations for the private seated dinner and live concert start at $500 and may be purchased by contacting:dan@www.creativegrowth.org / 510-836-2340 x 17

Event Details: Saturday, April 23, 2016 6:00-9:00PM The Oakland Museum of California Tickets on sale March 11 @ www.creativegrowth.org

Beyond Trend 2015 Video

Director's Note | Year End Letter

Dear Friend,

Not everyone gets to be a part of history.

Creative Growth’s history is the story of people with developmental disabilities becoming contemporary artists. Artists whose work now influences other artists, impacts our culture, and increases the capacity for people with disabilities to achieve beyond what many have imagined. Our story is still evolving. With your support, we’ll make the next decade our most important ever.

Look at what has already changed. In my office I keep a progressive publication from the early 1970’s, when Creative Growth was founded. It is called Life with a Retarded Adult, and it discusses whether a family can bring an adult child with a disability out to a restaurant or if they should always eat at home. This is the environment in which Creative Growth was born. It’s a stark reminder of how radical our art experiment was and how far we have come.

We continue to make history in our studio everyday. This past year:

• Facebook commissioned artists John Martin and Kim Clark to create large-scale wall installations that will become permanent parts of its new Frank Gehry designed headquarters in Menlo Park, CA.

• Bound and Unbound, a major traveling retrospective exhibition of Judith Scott’s eighteen years of sculpture making, was presented at the Brooklyn Museum to excellent reviews from The New Yorker and The New York Times.

• Our Video Production Workshop presented a new 30-minute film, Starquarius, in multiple East Bay locations and is preparing for national gallery screenings.

• We provided leadership in the field through consultations and lectures about our work at gatherings of international curators and arts administrators in San Francisco, New York, Vancouver and Tokyo.

Everyday at Creative Growth, new artists find their way and achieve the unexpected. Artists like Monica Valentine. Have you seen Monica’s multicolored sculpture composed of pins and beads in our gallery? Optically magical, tactilely enticing, these are made by a woman who has been totally blind since birth. Her path towards making art that involves detailed handwork, pins and intricate color patterns defies what some might expect her to do. She is changing the way in which the world views artists who are blind.

Monica’s story is a Creative Growth story. Individuals rising above their circumstances, art serving as a fundamental human expression, each of us supporting and being inspired by one another.

We have more artists to serve, but we need funding to continue our work. Sixty percent of our annual budget comes from individual donations.

Artists like Monica need your gifts to help support:

• Our $150,000 annual art supply budget• Transportation costs for our artists to get to us from around the Bay Area• Lunches for those who are unable to bring food with them• Presentation of artists’ work in five countries• Our talented staff - who support, mentor and befriend our artists six days a week...and have for over four decades

Forty years ago our artists lived in an entirely different world, one filled with stigma and misunderstanding. Let’s not go back there. Let’s move forward and forge a new path together. With your support, we will continue to make history happen.

Today, I am happy to say there is a new book in my office. Simply called The Creative Growth Book, it reviews our 40-year history and includes new essays by Matthew Higgs and David Byrne, and new writing from the USA and Europe about our artists, our history and our projects. It’s an essential new review of our history, filled with compelling images and artwork that have never been seen before. The book will not be released until 2016, but is available to you now in recognition of your support of our artists.

I hope you will be able to meet Monica and all our artists in the studio soon, and that you will be a part of what we will continue to do together. Monica and our 160 other artists are hoping for your support.

Every dollar matters. Email me at tom@www.creativegrowth.org if you have any questions about what your support will do.

We are going further still. Come help us write the next chapter, we need your support.

Wishing you peace and creativity this holiday season,

Tom di Maria
Director

CGbook2015

P.S. Receive an advance copy of The Creative Growth Book, with a gift of $250 or a monthly pledge of $15 or more.

Shop Creative Growth Online | Limited Edition Merchandise and a New Studio Capsule Collection!

Introducing the Studio Capsule collection: A place to find specially curated artwork and refined objects, the Studio Capsule is an ever-changing rotation of unique and covetable curiosities. Highlighting limited edition pieces that harness the creative energy of the Creative Growth studio, these serial, hand-crafted works showcase the plethora of materials at the artists' creative disposal. Through these artful yet functional objects, get a virtual glimpse into the Creative Growth studio and be inspired by the idiosyncrasies and imaginations of each artist.

SHOP HERE

Stay Connected | Join the Creative Growth Email ~ Instagram ~ Facebook Community

Thank you for visiting our website, we love to share what's going on around the studio, gallery and art world with our friends and members. Below you will find a few ways to stay in touch with the latest event and exhibition information, as well as how to create a direct link to that one of a kind feeling that comes from interacting with Creative Growth artwork.  Follow us on Facebook 

Check out daily images from the Studio and Gallery on Instagram or find us on the Instagram app: @creativegrowth

Join our mailing list and receive updates about exhibitions and events*

*We appreciate your interest and support and will never misuse your information.

FREE Creative Growth Films at The New Parkway Theater | Friday, March 6 | 6-8pm

Friday March 66:00-8:00pm Free! 

The New Parkway 474 24th Street @ Telegraph Avenue Oakland, CA thenewparkway.com

Friday March 6, from 6:00-8:00pm, Creative Growth Art Center and The New Parkway are partnering to screen a free showcase of new and classic short films from the Creative Growth Video Production Workshop.

https://vimeo.com/120497175

First Friday Shorts, located in the heart of First Friday festivities in Oakland’s uptown, is a free monthly screening of short films from local media arts community organizations held at The New Parkway Theater (474 24th Street, Oakland). These screenings aim to bring the Bay Area’s diversity in perspective, voice, and vision into the heart of First Fridays.  The events showcase the talent from Bay Area media arts organizations, and always include live elements, such as performances or filmmaker Q&A.  Founded in March 2013 by San Francisco State University professor, Jillian Sandell, First Friday Shorts highlights films by Bay Area filmmakers and community arts organizations that use media production as part of a larger commitment to social justice and community transformation.  Short film, as a genre, not only challenges many of the traditional conventions and aesthetics of feature-length films, but is also an important sway to bring a greater diversity of stories, visions, and experiences into circulation.

Congratulations! | Kerry Damianakes + William Scott Receive Wynn Newhouse Award

The Wynn Newhouse Awards, established in 2006, provide grants to artists of excellence who also happen to have disabilities. Nominees and winners are chosen by a committee of respected professionals in the arts and disabilities communities. This year’s committee included Gavin Brown (Gavin Brown’s Enterprise), Mia Locks (curator, MOMA PS1), Nancy Rosen (arts consultant) and Rusty Shackelford (artist). The award is accompanied by a cash prize, as well as a group exhibition in New York in April 2015. We are delighted to announce that two Creative Growth artists, Kerry Damianakes and William Scott, have both been awarded Wynn Newhouse grants this year.

Kerry Damianakes powerfully manipulates the materials she uses in the production of her art. Working in a bold and colorful style, she recreates images of her favorite foods. She has a love of clean and simple form bounded by strong, black line work.  She has been an artist at Creative Growth since 1983.

Kerry Damianakes, Chicken Noodle Soup for Lunch for New Year’s, 2013, Prismacolor and ink on paper, 15 x 22 inches

 

Kerry Damianakes, Beef Cubes Carrot and Bell Pepper and Onion and Squash and Rice and Peas, 2009, Prismacolor and ink on paper, 22 x 30 inches

William Scott is a self-taught artist capable of rendering his imagined public and private worlds with remarkable accuracy and meticulous detail. William draws, paints and re-builds his native San Francisco in search of the elusive “normal life,” one of Baptist-sermon ideals and gleaming, safe, artistically franchised, city centers. San Francisco re-emerges as “Praise Frisco,” a place where Scott’s public longing for wholesome, peaceful interactions take place within idealized neighborhood landmarks. Most recently William has had a solo exhibition at White Columns, New York and shown with Gavin Brown’s enterprise and has been featured at both the Armory Show, New York and NADA during Art Basel, Miami.

William Scott, Untitled, 2014, Acrylic and ink on canvas, 36 x 48 inches

 

William Scott, Untitled, 2013, Acrylic and ink on paper, 22 x 30 inches 

Director's Note | Year End Letter

December 2014

Dear Friend of Creative Growth,

Do you remember the first time you walked into Creative Growth?

For me, it was a moment of wonderment at the extraordinary creative activity I was witnessing. I immediately wanted to play a part. I felt there was an opportunity to learn something important about life, and to make a real difference.

It is your understanding and appreciation of Creative Growth's vision and your generous support through the years that have elevated the achievements of our artists with disabilities to new heights.

Through art, a groundbreaking dialogue between people with disabilities and the wider community is now taking place – and it could not have happened without you.

With each year, our accomplishments grow. This past year:

• We expanded our studio space to include a new private workroom for our artists who are most independent and those who require more privacy and quiet while working.

• We began a program that allows individual artists the opportunity to fully curate an exhibition of their own work in tandem with our regular gallery exhibitions.

• Judith Scott became our third artist to have work acquired by the permanent collection of New York's MOMA, and a retrospective of her eighteen years of sculpture making opened at the Brooklyn Museum.

As a sign of how much the landscape has changed for artists with disabilities since Creative Growth began, Judith's solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum is being shown in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. Judith is being recognized for her rightful place among the significant female contemporary artists of our time, without regard for her disability.

This is an extraordinary achievement, and one that would not have been possible without ongoing community support.

I recently observed an artist who was considering attending our program as he walked into our studio space for the first time. His eyes widened, and he wasn't able to stop himself from smiling. This was the moment that he discovered Creative Growth. I was so proud that our generous donors allowed for this moment to happen, that together we could provide this place for him.

But many challenges remain. Today, I am asking for you to contribute to our work, and to the vision we all share.

Our goals for next year include:

• Furthering our service to young people with disabilities by expanding the capacity of our Saturday Youth Art Program

• Bringing our artists’ work to new markets, including the Tokyo Contemporary Art Fair

• Finalizing the acquisition of our last 100 safe and sturdy new studio chairs for all of our artists through a matching gift offer from a generous donor

• Increasing the quantity and diversity of art supplies we provide in our studio, including more large-scale canvasses

• Hosting visitors from Iceland, Australia and Italy who want to learn about our model program so they can bring it home to help people with disabilities in their own countries

• Despite the importance of these items for our people and programs, we simply cannot afford them without additional revenue. I hope you'll be able to help.

Please take a moment now to make a year-end gift. Your support makes a big difference to our artists.

If you're not sure what your gift will do or how it will impact our people, please call me directly at 510-836-2340 ext. 13 or email me at tom@www.creativegrowth.org, so that I may answer your questions and share how important and impactful your support will be.

You are a critical member of the community that makes Creative Growth possible. We simply could not continue and reach our further goals without your help.

Thank you for sharing and supporting our vision.

Best Wishes,

Tom di Maria
Director

P.S. Make a year-end tax deductible gift of $250 or more and you'll receive Arts & Eats, our exciting new collaborative art and cookbook project with recipes from 25 top Oakland restaurants.

And remember, you can shop in our gallery each Saturday in December until Christmas from 10am to 3pm!

Outsider Art Fair, Paris 2014

October 23 - 26, 2014 Thursday 5pm–9pm Friday 11am–8pm Saturday 11am–8pm Sunday 12pm–6pm

Hotel Le A 4 Rue d'Artois Paris 75008 T +33 (0)6 15 15 01 64 info@outsiderartfair.com

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE!