We are pleased to announce our mini-documentary featuring Dr. Reji Mathew, expressive arts educator and advocate; Vernon Fains, MA, artist and art educator; and Tricia Lane Forster, artist and art educator.
Vernon and Tricia are art educators who have championed accessibility in the arts for over 20 years. This in-depth conversation explores themes of equity, access, and disability wisdom through the lives and artwork of five iconic artists:
Judith Scott, fiber artist I William Scott, painter I Monica Valentine, sculptor
Moses Hamilton, painter I Mary Dignan, mosaic artist
COMMUNITY SHARING...
"This video is an incredible resource for art educators who want to create more inclusive and accessible learning environments. It provides meaningful entry points for conversations about disability, identity, creativity, and access. It also gives educators both inspiration and practical opportunities to reflect on their own teaching practices." - Paula Liz, Visual Arts Educator, Founder and Executive Director of Anti-Racist Art Teachers
"THE GIFT OF ART: ACCESSIBILITY PATHS FOR ALL CHILDREN" is sure to be an impactful resource for art educators currently engaging disabled students in the classroom and those looking for meaningful ways to grow toward an anti-ableist, process-oriented, strengths-based art classroom environment. Using the powerful visual arts practices of five disabled artists, several of whom hail from pedagogically informative progressive art studios, viewers are invited to consider the impact of building in time for experimentation, room for choice making, diversity of creative materials, and much more in the service of working to invite each student into authentic self-expression within the art classroom." Cathy Goucher. Credentialed, licensed art therapist and co-founder of Make Studio, a progressive art studio for disabled adult artists in Baltimore, Maryland
The ARAT Accesibility Project is Coordinated
by Dr. Reji Mathew, PhD, LCSW, REAT - Expressive Arts Educator