In 2003 The Sister Kenny International Art Show by Artists with Disabilities was exactly what I needed. The previous year had been a remarkable journey of art making with a unique group of artists who in addition to living with a serious and persistent mental illness, were challenged with physical and cognitive disabilities. I had been a cheerleader for fine art, for finished compositions. No more crayons, glitter or painted macaroni noodles; adult artists needed adult tools and adult aspirations. Outside the walls of our agency, exhibition opportunities were scarce; The Sister Kenny International Art Show by Artists with Disabilities was exciting and satisfying. That year we submitted a dozen pieces of art and received a dozen awards and/or art sales. We were artists, it was established. We received a grant for a website/online gallery, named ourselves Spectrum ArtWorks and proceeded with the making of art.

When, a year later, Outsiders and Others Gallery opened we were hungry for exhibition opportunities. Outsiders and Others second exhibition (and what would become a yearly event for the gallery during its four successful years) was a Mental Health Awareness Show and Yuri Arajs; the curator for the gallery came to Spectrum looking for submissions. We were cautious. How would the gallery conceptually frame such a show? What would be the benefits to our program participants? We discussed the ethics, we discussed the possible ramifications of public disclosure (of a mental health diagnosis), and we weighed the pros and cons. Arajs was professional, he came with remarkable credentials and had years of experience working with artists with disabilities. He took the art seriously and he treated the artists with dignity and respect. The exhibition included special gallery events with speakers and forums and an educational component that gave the show relevance and integrity. The actual physical space with its fresh white walls and spot-on lighting let everyone who came to view the exhibition know that this was serious work, this was art, and yeah, all the artists in this show happen to live with a mental illness.

The Spectrum ArtWorks Program grew and changed. Through the years the program attracted new artists, our focus narrowed to work more intensely and individually with the most serious artists, living with serious mental illness. We developed into a group of artists/activists adding stigma bashing to our mission statement. Our relationship with Outsiders and Others grew, and while there was at least one Spectrum ArtWorks Artist in each of the following Outsiders and Others mental illness awareness shows, Spectrum ArtWorks artists also participated in other shows at Outsiders and Others that had nothing to do with mental illness and in galleries throughout the city...just like any other artist.

For our first few group shows we delivered a press release with a possibly confusing message about how we were artists first and we didn't want people to focus on our mental health status, but hey, did we mention we are a group of artists living with mental illness? We did a lot of research into the history of the disability rights movement and disability culture; we talked about identity art and the history of "all women" art shows or African-American art shows, GBTL shows, and their relationship to what we were trying to do. Our two greatest challenges to promoting ourselves as a group of artists were societal myths and stereotypes linking art and "madness" (*look at the base of the page for links) and the other was The Sister Kenny International Art Show by Artists with Disabilities.

People would hear about our exhibition efforts and presume it was another Sister Kenny. That is to say, they would expect a non-juried art show displaying the creative efforts of anyone living with a disability. Or they would think of the yearly show in St. Paul exclusively for people living with mental illness to display their art (Artibility) that anyone with a mental illness can exhibit in and assume we were attempting to be the Minneapolis version of the same. Artibility is a show to celebrate ability. Sister Kenny also celebrates ability. Some of the art is amazing, some of it is inspiring in part, because of the persons disability (I remember an awesome grid of colors that on closer examination was an intricate portrait; from the description the viewer learns the artist is completely blind), some is fun and cheery and knowing that the artist lives with down-syndrome cause many viewers to exclaim, "ohhhhhh, how sweet".

Most of the Spectrum ArtWorks artists continued to exhibit their work in the Sister Kenny show. The prizes were nice, the community component important. As artists living with a disability, it was recognized as a part of a collective history. But we struggled with how we felt about it none-the-less. "We both question and celebrate the Sister Kenny" was how our official rant would begin. How do you break down stigma associated with mental illness if the show isn't remotely juried? How does it help to exhibit sub-par art? No, offense, we'd say, but if you take the first 300 pieces of art submitted, what percentage of it can be any good? And then there is the, "Ohhhhhh, how sweet" factor.

Spectrum ArtWorks had an exhibition entitled "Out of the Blue" at The Gage Family Art Gallery until the end of March and as a part of the show I have spoken a number of times to students at the Augsburg campus. In preparing for my speech, a history of the Spectrum ArtWorks program, I tried to remember what, exactly had been our issue with Sister Kenny. I went to their website. I went to the Artibility website. Neither says anything about breaking down stigma. They celebrate ability. There is nothing wrong with celebrating ability. It is special, and sometimes it's sweet. It's just not what we do. It additionally occurred to me that 46 years ago, The Sister Kenny International Art Show by Artists with Disabilities was probably a pretty radical idea.

I went to a funeral last month of one of the earliest Spectrum ArtWorks artists. She had lived with a mental illness and in an assisted living facility for over 20 years. She was physically disabled and cognitively impaired. She was also funny and sweet and had strong hands that could turn an entire oil
pastel into a beautiful smear on a paper in a half minute. She had no fear of color and an inherent sense of composition. Displayed at her memorial service were her paper certificates of participation at The Sister Kenny International Art Show by Artists with Disabilities over the course of many years. The opportunity for her to display her ability and the opportunity for others to celebrate her ability had been a tremendously important part of her life. I thought about how many hundreds, if not thousands of certificates of participation from The Sister Kenny show are held dear by those who have participated.

I am really looking forward to the Sister Kenny show this year. The opening is a celebration and everyone is welcome. I hope you will check it out.
--Amy Rice

The Sister Kenny International Art Show by Artists with Disabilities is one of only a handful of judged art shows in the country for those with a physical or mental impairment. This year's show, the 46th annual Sister Kenny exhibition, will be held April 16--May 22, on the second floor of the Sister Kenny Building of Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Regular exhibit and sale hours are weekdays from 9 am- 4:30 pm. Admission is free and there the grand opening is scheduled for April 16 from 5-8 pm.



The following online collection of work represents artists who have exhibited at the Sister Kenny show in past years.

Some related links:

*Read a two-part discussion on the topic of art and "madness:"
EXCHANGE: A dialogue between painter Amy Rice and author Marya Hornbacher (Part One)
EXCHANGE: A dialogue between painter Amy Rice and author Marya Hornbacher (Part Two)
Sister Kenny website
Spectrum ArtWorks: The Blue Show

Mixed Media