Pittsfield — Community Access to the Arts (CATA) held an opening reception for its annual art show at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts on Wednesday, July 12.
The art show opened on June 30 at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield, where it will run until August 23. The art show also opened at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown on July 15, where it will run until October 29.
The Great Barrington-based organization was founded in 1993, and its mission is to nurture and celebrate the creativity of people with disabilities through the arts. The show currently on display at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts features paintings, drawings, and sculptures from more than 150 artists with disabilities who are part of CATA’s programs.
The title of this year’s art show is “I Am A Part of Art.” “I think what the title conveys is the sense of belonging that CATA artists feel in the CATA community, in the larger community, and in the art forms in which they are expressing themselves,” organization Executive Director Margaret Keller told The Berkshire Edge. “That is really something that is at the very core to our mission at CATA, which is to foster a sense of belonging and inclusion through the arts.”
Keller said that creating a welcoming community is an essential part of CATA’s mission, along with creating artistic opportunities for members of the community who may not necessarily have those opportunities. “If you think about the arts, it is so much about creative expression, but for many years those artistic opportunities were not available to everyone, including people with developmental and intellectual disabilities,” Keller said. “For years, there were so many barriers to accessing meaningful creative expression. CATA’s mission is grounded in creating access for people with disabilities. The organization’s mission is also grounded in recognition that, by providing that access, we all benefit as a community.”
Keller said that, through CATA’s workshops, members of the organization’s programs are learning how to create in different techniques through multiple mediums. “The point of it is that, when you get right down to it, each individual person has an opportunity to express themselves and to convey something that is important to them as an individual and to their individual identity,” Keller said.
“It has really been exciting to me to see the work that has been created during CATA’s workshops,” CATA program director and co-curator of the organization’s annual show Kara Smith said. “Everyone needs an opportunity to express themselves. Another part of CATA’s mission is to bring their art into the world. I think our community loves to celebrate their work, and our CATA artists are proud to be showing their work here.”
Keller said CATA has had a partnership with the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts for the past eight years to display art from its programs. “We have been working with people with disabilities in Pittsfield for many years, but over the last five years we have really worked to expand the programs that we are providing to people with disabilities in the city,” Keller said. “CATA is now serving over 200 students with disabilities in the city’s public school system.”
She added that the works on display at both art shows are all available for sale, with 50 percent of the sale revenue going to each individual artist as a commission. “These shows are the most gloriously inclusive art events in Berkshire County,” Keller said. “It’s an amazing opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate everyone’s talents.”
For more information about CATA, visit its website.
