Come to Art Enables on September 12 for the opening of our 🤩 20th annual🤩 exhibition of self-taught artists! This year's show will include independent artists and artists from 27 progressive studios like Art Enables from around the country. As always, the galleries will be chock-full of an incredible, diverse array of surprising, delightful, insightful work. Join us in celebrating the artistic forces we've been honored to exhibit in this expansive show for two whole decades ❤️
More about "Outside Forces": Art Enables welcomes independent artists and those from sister studios around the country for our 20th annual exhibition of work by self-taught 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. 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.” 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.  This exhibition began in 2006 as a way for DC-area groups working with self-taught artists to exhibit together. Over the last 20 years, the exhibition’s success has seen it grow to feature artists from across the nation alongside our resident artists. With a selection of affordable work in a wide array of styles, the show continues to be an excellent introduction to outsider art for those looking to start their own collection.