I was lucky enough to be permitted to tour the Center for Creative Works in Wynnewood, PA. As their website states, “The Center for Creative Works is an arts studio focused on developing the creative potential and a cultural identity for people with intellectual disabilities.” I was able to visit their studio space, where many of the participants in the program were in the midst of creating art work at a variety of stations, including ceramics, a wood shop, drawing/painting, a silk screen area, a fibers studio and a music studio. It is housed inside a former Buick dealership, and is a generally open floor plan.
As an art teacher, museum employee, and special education enthusiast, I have to say I was giddy and smiling from ear to ear the entire tour. It was remarkable what this organization is able to accomplish, and many people were coming up to my tour guide, as well as myself, to introduce themselves and show us works of art in progress.
Their strengths are many, and I encourage everyone to check them – they are having an Open House in November, which I know I will try to bring some folks to. Their equipment was honestly enviable by any art studio standard, but especially for a studio space for adults with intellectual disabilities. Each area was well equipped, and it seemed as though the participants had everything they could want and need. All the staff I interacted with was excited about the mission of the organization, and the artists/participants I spoke with seemed to have a real sense of ownership over the art they were making.
One of my favorite things I saw (as someone with a sculpture background, and a deep love for tools) were the adapted belt sander and scroll saw in the wood shop.
Yes. You are in fact looking at a exercise-bike powered belt sander, and an adapted manual scroll saw. These allow the artists to safely, and pretty quietly, use these tools that are extremely helpful in the wood shop without endangering themselves, or creating too much noise in the shared, open floor plan space. These were created by their resident artist (a paid employee) at the Center. The scroll saw is also portable, which allows them to travel with it, and demo it on the road.
Their teaching artists are mostly artists, not educators specifically, who have a wide range of talents, including artists who help some of their more interested participants create professional art portfolios. There are also visiting artists, who give demos – from one or two day to two weeks long. There are no formal classes – just workshops on materials or techniques. “Mentors provide a sense of structure to guide learning, which they may do by listening emphatically and by reinforcing the intrinsic motivation to help the student discover a voice, a calling, or a passion” (Thomas and Seely Brown, 2011. Pg 51). One mentor we met as a participant/artist – Cassie, who gave us a tour of the wood show, and demoed the tools pictured above for us. Cassie’s tour reminded me of this quote from chapter 4 – “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and feed him for as long as the fish supply holds out. But create a collective, and every man will learn how to feed himself for a lifetime” (Thomas and Seely Brown, 2011. Pg. 53). While many of these participants need someone advocating for them for their entire lives, they are given the resources to at least partially advocate for themselves.
One of the most amazing things for me was how the artists were compensated for work sold. The organization strives to have their artists keep 60% of the earnings from the work they sell. If they are exhibiting somewhere that charges a fee, it comes out of the organization’s 40%. In their silk screen area (you can get t-shirts, cards, and tote bags printed there), they run a 6-color silk screen station, and most designs are created by their artists. I personally own their Gritty shirt.
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Their weaknesses were hard to find from my viewpoint. This organization is considered a day-program, and started as a sheltered workspace or work center. Participants were doing work, like stuffing envelopes or putting labels on cans, for often less than minimum wage. When the new director came in 2010, she spearheaded the transformation, and did a full-staff turnover. She described this as a very difficult time for their organization, and she needed to find people who shared a vision for this new program.
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Their opportunities are seemingly endless. They have their artists exhibiting all over it seems, including Art Ability and the Woodmere Museum. Their artists are gaining visibility in the Philadelphia arts community more and more, and is hopefully creating a dialogue with people about the power of art as an equalizer.
I was not allowed to photograph the studio space to protect the privacy of certain participants, but I can see that as this organization hosts different visiting artists, they have grown in what they offer to their participants – my favorite being the tufting gun in the fibers studio. Having the ability to adapt their tools, and create a greater variety of art making tools to the participants only creates more ways for them to express themselves and create art. It is truly remarkable. A came across a similar studio based in Oakland, California – Creative Growth
Threats: Since this is a day program, the staff at Creative do have to keep extensive paperwork on all of their participants. They are dependent on Medicaid funds to support their work. As politics and funding for public programs shift, they are aware just how fragile their support may be.
The participants range in age from 22-85, and they are serving 85 people currently. People come 3-5 days a week from 9am-3pm. 85 people is pushing the limits of their program; with the limited number of staff they are able to employ. The amount of paperwork required for that number is participants employees at least people full time. As laws and requirements change for programs like this, they will need to be constantly updating and educating their staff.
Other threats are the limited knowledge people outside the organization have to the benefits of art education for people with special needs. The foremost book that I have come across (and own) is Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs – published in 2006. It seems that outside teachers and educators, this amazing resources could be doubted. I have even seen art teachers doubt students with special needs, and limit their creativity in the arts – a detriment to both the student and the teacher.
Thomas, Douglas and Seely Brown, John. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change. 18-38.
Andrea, wow! What a spectacular informal learning space for adults with special needs. We don’t have anything like this in Pittsburgh! My mother was a special educator at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children for 35 years- this kind of day programming changes lives.
My favorite thing you write about here, as you note, is the way the Center for Creative Works adapted equipment and tools for the population that they serve. I really want to try one of those tufting guns now. I am curious what the mentor to learner ratio is like. Also, how is the flow around the centers- is it structured or are participants free to move around as they please? The way you described the open concept converted car dealership made me envision a space and architecture where students have agency of where and when they engage just as the examined college students in “A Study Exploring Learners’ Informal Learning Space Behaviors, Attitudes, and Preferences” by Harrop and Tuprin (2013). How did you discover this institution of learning?
Reference
Harrop, D., & Turpin, B. (2013). A Study Exploring Learners’ Informal Learning Space Behaviors, Attitudes, and Preferences. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 19(1), 58–77. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1080/13614533.2013.740961
It is my understanding that the participants are assigned areas, but that many give their preferences to where they would like to work. Some of the participants seemed to stay in one primary area.
The tufting guns are amazing. Here’s a link to a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYXWtk6T59k
I found this space on social media (instagram to be specific) but I was surprised to see an acquaintance there that helps teach the music program there. I reached out to them through their website, and they were kind enough to respond. I’ve found that it never hurts to ask!
Hi Andrea,
Wow! This learning space looks incredible. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your experience in this space as well as your experience with special education students. I am currently teaching an adaptive art class for students with multi disabilities, most of whom are in wheelchairs. I find myself getting creative with the tools we use in class to ensure every child finds success in the process of creating art. I connected with the part in which you mention using art as an equalizer. The existence of spaces such as this are important to facilitate these opportunities. I am incredibly interested in the adapted tools being used. Are the tools ones that already exist or are they fashioned in house to meet the needs of the specific individuals? Thank you for sharing and opening my eyes to such a special learning space. Hopefully as we continue the dialogue of using art as an equalizer, more spaces such as this will exist!
Hi Courtney. These were tools that were adapted in house by artists that work there. The scroll saw is actually portable, and they take it with them to demo. I have been seriously geeking out about the wood shop since I saw it.
I also teach a group of students with multiple disabilities, but they are pre-school aged. It can be an interesting challenge to see what they are capable of, but I love it. I love bringing new materials to them, and don’t mind having projects that are not necessarily “a success” because it just means that we have tried something and learned it didn’t work.