Creativity Explored

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Creativity Explored was founded in 1983 by artist Florence Ludins-Katz and psychologist Elias Katz who worked at the Sonoma Developmental Center.{{Cite news |last=Rich |first=Nathaniel |date=2015-12-16 |title=A Training Ground for Untrained Artists (Published 2015) |language=en |work=The New York Times Magazine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/magazine/a-training-ground-for-untrained-artists.html |access-date=}} They also founded art center Creative Growth in Oakland, California, and NIAD (Nurturing Independence through Artistic Development) Art Center in Richmond, California.{{Cite web |last=Bravo |first=Tony |title=Into the Brightness: Artists from Creativity Explored, Creative Growth & NIAD |url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/event/art-exhibits/into-the-brightness-artists-from-creativity-explored-creative-growth-niad/ |access-date= |website=Datebook {{!}} San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide |language=en-US}} The three centers were intended to be independently operated although similar organizations in response to statewide cuts in services for disabled adults.

Creativity Explored is considered a progressive art studio, a fine arts studio where developmentally disabled adults can create art and community{{Cite web |last1=Ortiz |first1=Tim |last2=Donahue |first2=Andreana |date=2014-09-02 |title=Creativity Explored |url=http://www.disparateminds.org/blog/2015/2/22/creativity-explored |access-date= |website=Disparate Minds |language=en-US}} – this form of center differs from art therapy in that it is not a clinical practice.{{Cite web |last1=Donahue |first1=Andreana |last2=Ortiz |first2=Tim |title=What is a progressive art studio? |url=http://www.disparateminds.org/faq |access-date= |website=Disparate Minds |language=en-US}} In a progressive art studio, a staff of teaching artists assist developmentally disabled artists through a variety of media, including oil pastels, painting, sculpture, digital media, textiles, printmaking, drawing, and collage.{{Cite web |last1=Ortiz |first1=Tim |last2=Donahue |first2=Andreana |date=2017-01-24 |title=Evelyn Reyes: Ritual, Rules, and Abstraction |url=http://www.disparateminds.org/blog/2017/1/22/evelyn-reyes |access-date= |website=Disparate Minds |language=en-US}}

Teachers at Creativity Explored assist artists with advice and art supplies on an individual basis; artists rotate through teachers, leaving uncompleted work with each teacher. Teachers at Creativity Explored generally have a background in fine arts, and often have individual studio practices. In 2020, Creativity Explored, along with Creative Growth and NIAD, switched its programs over to online art sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Le |first=Anh-Minh |date=2021-03-03 |title=Creative Thinking: Nonprofits Adapt and Continue to Support Artists With Disabilities |url=https://www.nobhillgazette.com/arts_and_culture/creative-thinking-nonprofits-adapt-and-continue-to-support-artists-with-disabilities/article_f2e45c6c-3901-5b2e-b412-eb72cbc9279b.html |access-date= |website=Nob Hill Gazette |language=en}} The nonprofit hosts an annual gala, "Art Changes Lives", featuring a live and silent auction.{{Cite web |title=Creativity Explored: Art Changes Lives 2021 |url=http://missionlocal.org/event/creativity-explored-art-changes-lives-2021/ |access-date= |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}

Creativity Explored has a gallery in its 16th Street location in the Mission District, where art is sold and exhibitions are curated, roughly five times a year. Creativity Explored artists have exhibited work in museums, galleries, and art fairs in over 14 countries and have earned over $2.2 million from their art.{{As of?|date=August 2023}} Creativity Explored also sells artwork online, both via its own website and art brokerage Artsy. The nonprofit also maintains a digital archive that is used for licensing projects.

Artists can also earn income through partnerships and grants that Creativity Explored manages on their behalf.{{Cite web |title=Creativity Explored Supports Disabled Artists |url=https://experience.dropbox.com/resources/creativity-explored-customer-story |access-date= |website=experience.dropbox.com}}{{Cite web |title=Creativity Explored {{!}} Artists, Art for Sale, and Contact Info {{!}} Artsy |url=https://www.artsy.net/partner/creativity-explored/works |access-date= |website=Artsy |language=en}} Artists participating in the organization earn 50% of revenue generated by their artwork.{{Cite web |title=Ferry Building Holiday Art Pop-Up with Creativity Explored |url=https://sfarts.org/event/ferry-building-holiday-art-popup-with-creativity-explored-1kEHG3yUcy7SbrUFmIGe9O/ |access-date= |website=SFArts |language=en}}

• Oakland Museum of California: Beginning in May 2023 and on view through January 21, 2024, CE contributed art for Into the Brightness. This was the largest museum exhibition in over a decade featuring artists from the three Ludins-Katz-founded organizations. The show reflected disabled artists’ experiences of the world from their perspective.
• Recology: An exhibition on January 20, 21, and 24, 2023, at the Recology 503 Studio titled Become Like Life Golden: Creativity Explored at Recology displayed the work of 27 artists consisting of materials collected from the Recology Transfer Station.{{Cite web |last= |title=Become Like Life Golden: Creativity Explored at Recology |url=https://www.recology.com/recology_news/become-like-life-golden-creativity-explored-at-recology/ |access-date= |website=Recology |language=en-US}} A condensed version was then displayed at the CE Gallery from January 26 to March 25, 2023, titled Relove: Creativity Explored at Recology.
• Museum of Craft and Design: From September 4, 2021, to January 23, 2022, the Museum of Craft and Design presented fashion designs by over 50 Creativity Explored artists in Mode Brut.{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Emily |date=2021-11-07 |title=Accessibility Takes Center Stage in a Fashion Show |url=http://hyperallergic.com/689394/accessibility-takes-center-stage-in-a-fashion-show/ |access-date= |website=Hyperallergic |language=en-US}} The exhibition utilized recycled materials to reinforce a questioning of fashion. On display were textiles intended to propose shifting concepts of gender, accessibility, adaptive clothing, identity, and the role of the outsider in art.
• SFO Museum: From March 12 to December 4, 2016, in Terminal 3, Departures Level 2 of SFO, CE had an exhibit titled Celebrating a Vision: Art and Disability.{{Cite web |last=Vázquez-Concepción |first=Á.R. |date=2016-05-31 |title=Celebrating a Vision: Art and Disability on view at SFO Museum's Terminal 3 Gallery through December 4, 2016 |url=https://craniumcorporation.org/2016/05/31/celebrating-a-vision-art-and-disability-on-view-at-sfo-museums-terminal-3-gallery-through-september-18-2016/ |access-date= |website=Cranium Corporation |language=en}} This also included work from the sister organizations of Creative Growth and NIAD. Eight artists were chosen to represent their respective institutions, with work ranging from textiles to collage.
• Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive: From May 11 to September 25, 2011, Create, a show displaying the work of CE artists, was on display at BAMPFA.{{Cite web |last=Seraj |first=Azin |title=CREATE: The Artists Are Present |url=http://www.azinseraj.com/1302/artwork/collaboration/create-the-artists-are-present/ |access-date= |website=Azin Seraj}} It was curated by BAMPFA Director Lawrence Rinder, with Matthew Higgs, director of White Columns.

• Chronicle Books: In 2023, for the organization’s 40th anniversary, CE and Chronicle Books partnered to produce Art is Art: Collaborating with Neurodiverse Artists at Creativity Explored.{{Cite web |title=Art Is Art |url=https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/art-is-art |access-date= |website=Chronicle Books |language=en}} The book includes hundreds of original artworks, ranging from paintings to sculptures, accompanied by quotes and stories from the artists themselves. It is organized into thematic chapters, including "Yes I Do Think About Sex", "Fears", and "Blackiful".
• Blackiful: June 2023, The Blackiful Collective and CE published Wonderful Blackiful People: Bay Area Changemakers from A to Z.{{Cite web |last=Le |first=Anh-Minh |date=2023-07-31 |title=See (and Hear) These San Francisco Art Shows While You Still Can |url=https://www.nobhillgazette.com/the_current/arts_and_culture/see-and-hear-these-san-francisco-art-shows-while-you-still-can/article_905183a0-15db-11ee-969e-4722689c1dd0.html |access-date= |website=Nob Hill Gazette |language=en}} Members include Adrianna Simeon, Alissa Bledsoe, Joseph "JD" Green, Joseph Omolayole, Laron Bickerstaff, and Vincent Jackson.

• San Francisco Public Library: From February to March 2023, more than 2,700 people voted for five CE artists' work to be turned into library cards. The voting took place online and in-person at the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch, where entries from 30 CE artists were displayed until April 30, 2023.
• Comme des Garçons: For the Autumn/Winter 2013–2014 show, founder Rei Kawakubo commissioned work by CE artist Dan Michiels.{{Cite web |last=Battista |first=Anna |title=The Infinity (of Tailoring) and Beyond: Comme des Garcons A/W 13 Vs Dan Michiels |url=https://www.irenebrination.com/irenebrination_notes_on_a/ |access-date= |website=Irenebrination: Notes on Architecture, Art, Fashion, Fashion Law & Technology}} Kawakubo initially saw Michiel's work in Raw Vision, a magazine showcasing outsider art.{{Cite web |last=Scanlon |first=Babe |date=February 6, 2014 |title=Comme des Garcons' Collaboration With Creativity Explored Artist Blows Babe's Mind |url=http://sfappeal.com/2014/02/comme-des-garcons-collaboration-with-creativity-explored-artist-blows-babes-mind/ |access-date= |website=SF Appeal |language=en}}
• Sakura of America: Sakura provides art supplies for CE.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-10-26 |title=Sakura partners with Creativity Explored to celebrate disabled artists |url=https://www.sakuraofamerica.com/sakura-partners-with-creativity-explored-to-celebrate-disabled-artists/ |access-date= |website=Sakura of America |language=en-US}} In their partnership with CE, Sakura posts interviews with CE artists to their website to highlight the use of their products in the studio.[https://www.sakuraofamerica.com/joseph-omolayole-creativity-explored-artist-spotlight/ "Joseph Omolayole Creativity Explored Artist Spotlight"]. Sakura of America.
• CB2: Beginning in 2008, CE and CB2 have collaborated on home goods, with CE's art first appearing on CB2 products in December of that year for an auction of six chairs, with 10% of sale proceeds going to CE.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=December 8, 2008 |title=CB2 and Creativity Explored Team Up for Benefit |url=https://www.7x7.com/cb2-and-creativity-explored-team-up-for-benefit-1779151223.html |access-date= |website=7x7 Bay Area |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Bravo |first=Tony |date=September 28, 2018 |title=Style Radar: Creativity Explored 'fabulates' the runway, Princess Deena at the de Young, Jay Jeffers' 'Bold' new book |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/style/article/Style-Radar-Creativity-Explored-fabulates-13266421.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle}}

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• {{Official website|https://www.creativityexplored.org}}

{{Bay Area Arts Organizations|state=}}

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Category:Arts organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area

Category:Arts organizations established in 1983

Category:Disability in the arts

Category:Mission District, San Francisco

Category:Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco

Category:Potrero Hill, San Francisco

Category:1983 establishments in California