Providing professional development to Artists with disability
The Studio ARTISTS collective caters to individuals who have emerged as ‘artists’ through their involvement in a recreational art program at Studio ARTES Northside. Located in the Northern Sydney suburb of Hornsby, Studio ARTES is an independent, not for profit organisation offering creative programs to adults with disabilities. Arts workers Gabrielle Mordy and Emma Johnston formed the Studio ARTIST collective in direct response to the needs of particular members working within the more recreationally focused core art program.
Studio ARTISTS caters specifically to adults with disabilities who have a vocational interest in the arts. That is, people with an established arts practice, and a developed portfolio of work, who possess the drive and passion to pursue art professionally. After years of practice within the Studio ARTES art program, the curriculum vitae of Studio ARTIST members includes both national and international exhibitions including “Matthew and Me” and Studio ARTISTS:Untitled” at Callan Park Gallery (Sydney College of the Arts), “Unseen Ways” at Macquarie University Art Gallery and “Down Here: Down Under” at Atelier Herenplaats, Rotterdam.
In late 2011, the collective was awarded its first Arts NSW project grant. This funding enabled the collective to undertake a mentorship program which aligned five established artists with five Studio ARTISTS. The mentorship program linked the Studio ARTISTS with a range of partners including the College of Fine Arts, Sydney College of the Arts, Blood and Thunder Press and Gaffa Gallery.
The success of this project has since secured the Studio ARTISTS a further grant from Arts NSW. Through this support, the Studio ARTIST initiative can now offer a twelve month program of workshops. Facilitated by established artists the workshops provide specialised tuition to approximately twenty Studio ARTISTS.
