Outside Forces exhibition

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(Washington, DC) Art Enables is pleased to announce “Outside Forces”, a new online exhibition featuring work by over 100 self-taught artists.
Beginning September 14, 2020 and running through October 31, 2020, Art Enables—a nonprofit gallery and supported employment program dedicated to creating opportunities for visual artists with disabilities—will host the online exhibition “Outside Forces.” This annual exhibition (formerly “Outsider Art Inside the Beltway”) began in 2006 as a way for DC-area groups working with self-taught artists to exhibit together. Over the last 14 years, the exhibition’s success has seen it grow to feature artists from across the nation alongside our own resident artists. This year's exhibition - taking place solely online due to COVID-19 safety concerns - features 139 artworks by 112 artists, including artists from Art Enables and 12 additional studios/galleries, as well as 22 independent artists.

The term 'Outsider Art' may call to mind a number of concepts, many that have been historically debated. Defined in the strictest sense, it may include only artists who work in extreme isolation, have little to no contact with other artists and art institutions, and who may not even have a concept of their own work as art. Today, with outsider art gaining popularity and recognition, and under the ever- present influence of the internet, the term is often (sometimes controversially) used more broadly: focusing on self-taught artists without requiring its creators to be completely unaware of art at large.

While an exact definition of Outsider Art can be difficult to pin down, one often feels they know it when they see it: inventive work of extreme individuality motivated by the artist’s own personal concepts and desires, rather than the expectations of the mainstream art world. Art Enables embraces these more expansive parameters in “Outside Forces,” presenting work by artists who may not have had many opportunities to exhibit. Featured artists include individuals who are emerging and self-taught, are from traditionally underrepresented communities, and those with disabilities. All have paved their own way in the formation of their work, representing personal experiences and interests in individual styles developed outside the conventions of mainstream art education and culture.

Participating artists:
Setara Ahmed, Justin Andrews, Eric Atkinson, Oscar Azmitia, Nadine Baldwin, Maurice Barnes, James Billian, Jay Bird, Duane Blacksheare-Staton, Summer Blake, Susan Brown, Maria Camacho, Kimberly Carlson, Edward Chance Jr., Maria-Victoria Checa, Christopher Chronopoulos, Erika Clark, Calvin “Sonny” Clarke, Mara Clawson, Jacqueline Coleman, Robert Corcoran, Sarah Davie, Milton Davis, Leila Drici, Egbert “Clem” Evans, Benjy Ferree, Robert Fischer, Gemma Frost, Danny Frownfelter, Roy Gabbay, Gen Gaines, Debora Green, Stacie Hanson, Michael Haynes, Andrew Henderson, Nikki Heusman, Erik Holden, Gary Honig, Joanna Hiatt Kim, Bard Ionson, Ingrid Jansson, Payman Jazini, Harold Jeffries, Simone Johnson, Charmaine Jones, Hector Jones, Masaji Kikuchi, John King, Michael Knox, David Krueger, Becky Kubica, Guy Kuhn, Tony LaBate, Colin Lacey, Toni Lane, Paul Lewis, Raymond Lewis, Keith Lewis, Helen Lewis, Leah Loebner, Maiya Lonesome, Leah Lowery, Bess Lumsden, Noah Mann-Engel, Maurice McCrimmon, Deontray Neal, C.M., Marrimarra, Jared Max, Shaun McDonald, Paul McGown, Johnny McKenna, Charles Meissner, Walter Mika, Vanessa Monroe, Mark Moitoza, Margaret Mousseau, Christianne Msall, Stephen Mulhauser, Gary Murrell, Gillian Patterson, Shawn Payne, Hannah Pauling, Larry Pearsall, Tony Perez, Tim Peterson, Rachel Pomponi, Max Poznerzon, Dennis Quillin, Jamila Rahimi, Eric Sadowsky, Michael Schaff, Chris Schallhorn, Eileen Schofield, Alex Scott, Bob Shaw, Kelly Stone, Sarah Swan, Stacey Sweet, Elizabeth “Liz” Thompson, Nonja Tiller, Makoto Toya, Jimmy Tucker, Imani Turner, Justin Valenti, Maria Vanik, Noah Velez, Chris Viau, Charlie Visconage, Jerry Williams, Jean Wilson

Participating Studios/Galleries:
Arundel Lodge (Edgewater, MD), Art Enables (Washington, DC), Arts of Life (Chicago Studio, Chicago, IL), Arts of Life (North Shore Studio, Glenview, IL), ECF Art Centers / DAC Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), DaVinci Art Studios (Purcelville, VA), Jennifer Lauren Gallery (Manchester, U.K.), Little City (Palatine, IL), Make Studio (Baltimore, MD), Pure Vision Arts (New York, NY), St Elizabeth’s Hospital (Washington, DC), Studio 57 (Middletown, RI), VisAbility Art Lab (VisArts Center, Rockville, MD)

About Art Enables
Art Enables is an art gallery and vocational arts program dedicated to creating opportunities for artists with disabilities to make, market, and earn income from their honest and compelling artwork while building crucial skills, relationships, and experiences important to emerging and established artists. Since 2001, Art Enables has been providing artists with disabilities the creative and vocational training needed to become proud, professional artists.
Art Enables is located at 2204 Rhode Island Ave NE, Washington, DC 20018.
Gallery Hours/How to Visit
Beginning 9/19/20, for the safety of our community and staff, public gallery hours are limited to Saturdays from 9am - 5pm. Visitors will be limited to 5 at a time, and all visitors will be required to wear a mask to enter the gallery. We ask our guests to please follow all social
distancing guidelines, including keeping six feet apart. Please see our website for more info.
www.art-enables.org

For press inquiries and additional info:
Media Contact: Courtney Smith [email protected] 202-554-9455
Gallery Contact: Marissa Long [email protected] 202-554-9455