The Arts Council of Greater New Haven presents:
New Americana
Curated by Margaret Bodell and Debbie Hesse
January 24th to March 6th, 2010
Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery
at the Arts Council of Greater New Haven
70 Audubon St., 2nd Floor, New Haven
9am-5pm
Excerpt from current show at the New Haven Arts Council:
Curated by Margaret Bodell and Debbie Hesse, New Americana is an exhibition of drawings and paintings by emerging contemporary artists with disabilities. Featured artists will include Vito Bonanno, Ricky Hagedorn, Kenya Hanley, Andy Lacouture, Bill McDonnell, Susan Oliver, Michael Pellew and Chris Platt.
Curator Margaret Bodell, a community arts advocate in New Haven, works to develop programs and exhibits such as New Americana, which highlight the extraordinary contributions of underrepresented artists such as those with disabilities. “The work of these artists is highly personal,” she says. “Much of it focuses on themes of current events and reflects a strong sense of the artist’s community.” She describes the artists’ work as “contemporary Americana,” a term she uses to acknowledge the ever-expanding impact and significance of the work of artists with disabilities and other marginalized artists, commonly classified as “Outsider Art.”
