From the first time the Director for The Angle was introduced to Art Enables in 2009, he has been an advocate for this dynamic organization. When the idea that The Angle would have episodes, featuring Art Enables was early on the list to capture. Park Triangle featured the organization a few years back for The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities’ Video Spotlight. We hope that everyone who views this episode is inspired to visit the Art Enables’s gallery (2204 Rhode Island Ave, NE Washington, DC 20018) where they can find amazing art (at an affordable price) that will make any home or office sparkle.
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Max Poznerzon painting an octopus.
(From the Art Enables Website) In the Nation’s Capitol, a studio and gallery for emerging artists with developmental disabilities. Their chance to make art comes through Art Enables. Their reasons for doing it are their own: to have something to do, to make money, to feel important, to tell the world who they are, to become famous. All those reasons and more.
Very often people with developmental disabilities are better able to express themselves in images than in words. Art Enables is focused on just such a group: thirty-some artists whose disabilities include but are not limited to Down syndrome, autism, traumatic brain injury, bipolar disorder. Their ages range from 24 to 72. They are African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, Arab.
Art Enables gives them the resources and supports they need to become visual artists. Their artwork is exhibited and sold at the studio, at host venues and via the web site. They earn 60% of revenue from sales. They have a chance to tell their stories, and they find people eager to listen.
Bomani Armah is The Watermelon Man 