In the 1970s, artist Florence Katz and her psychologist husband Elias founded what would become a pioneering nonprofit in the garage of their home in Berkeley, California, as a response to funding for adults with disabilities being slashed from state-wide budgets. Known as the Creative Growth Art Center, it was one of the first U.S. organizations to champion and support artists with disabilities.
Now, nearly 50 years later, more than 150 works created by artists from Creative Growth and its peer organizations are set to join the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), marking one of the largest acquisitions of work by artists with developmental or intellectual disabilities by any museum in the country.
The acquisition stems from a new collaboration between the museum and the Katzes’ Oakland-based organization. This sort of initiative has been a long time coming in the museum’s vision to present a more diverse range of artists, according to SFMOMA director Christopher Bedford. “It is one important step of many in the museum’s overdue commitment to prioritize accessibility and artists with disabilities,” he said in a statement.
The partnership was initially triggered by a public letter to Bedford from Matthew Higgs, head of nonprofit art space White Columns, who in Feb. 2022 urged the incoming director via Instagram to support organizations like Creative Growth. The resulting acquisition is “completely unprecedented,” Higgs told Observer. “It will have a historical impact on the field of art and disabilities.”
There is still much work to be done regarding representation throughout museums in the U.S., said Higgs. But SFMOMA’s actions are a strong start. “Their gesture signals at the highest level imaginable that all museums of contemporary art should start to look at the work of artists with disabilities,” he said.
Several of the artists affiliated with Creative Growth have already achieved international fame. Dan Miller, who has worked with the organization since 1992 and is known for working ambidextrously to create layered pieces, was featured in the 2017 Venice Biennale, as was Judith Scott, a sculptor who experimented with yarn, twine, fabric and other textiles while working at Creative Growth from 1987 until her death in 2005. Meanwhile, the SFMOMA has previously acquired works from William Scott, who specializes in cityscapes and portraits and has worked with the nonprofit for more than three decades.
An exhibition for Creative Growth’s 50th anniversary
More than one hundred acquired works from ten different Creative Growth artists will be displayed in an SFMOMA exhibition next spring celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Katzes’ organization, including paintings, ceramics, videos, drawings and paper mache created from 1980 to 2022. The museum has additionally commissioned William Scott to create a mural for the entryway to its second floor of galleries as part of SFMOMA’s ongoing Bay Area Walls series.
An additional slate of 43 works is coming to SFMOMA from San Francisco’s Creativity Explored and the Richmond-based Nurturing Independence. The two organizations, which focus on supporting artists with developmental disabilities, were founded by the Katzes in 1983 and 1984 respectively. The museum reportedly paid $578,000 for its acquisition from the three Katz groups.
Early next year, SFMOMA plans to host talks at the museum and in Oakland for the 5th annual Creative Growth Creating Community Symposium. It will additionally hold the organization’s Beyond Trend Gala, complete with clothing created and modeled by Creative Growth artists.
While artists working with the nonprofit have previously seen their work snapped up by institutions like New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian and the Studio Museum of Harlem, SFMOMA’s acquisition represents a significant step into the mainstream for a community underrepresented in the world of contemporary artwork. “It has been far too long that art institutions have ignored or under-recognized artists with disabilities,” said Ginger Schulik Porcella, director of Creative Growth, in a statement. “These talented creators can no longer be relegated to the category of ‘outsider artists’ as they firmly occupy the walls of museums worldwide.”
