This directory of Minnesota artists with disabilities is part of Virtual Mn Artists Presents: Alison Bergblom Johnson, focused on artists with disabilities. Artist curator Alison Bergblom Johnson says, “I wanted to be deeply inclusive in my curation, to reach beyond my own network, to provide a route or two around fixed professional pathways that are not always accessible for people with disabilities, and to spark connections that might last long after 2020. The directory is unjuried, and might be used by other artists with disabilities to build community, by curators and artists selecting artists, and others.”
Amoke Kubat – Multi-Interdisciplinary Social Justice Artist, Cultural Community Leader, Writer/Playwright/Fiber Artist, Spiritual Elder, Educator, and Cultural Carrier
Bio: Founder of YO MAMA’S Art of Mothering Workshops (2010 – present), playwright and actor for ANGRY BLACK WOMAN & Well Intentioned White Girl (2016 at Intermedia Arts and continues as public read – online now due to Covid), and Old Good Pussy and Good Old Pussy (2020 at Pillsbury House Theater).
Artist statement: As a writer, actor, stand-up comic, fiber artist, painter, priestess, and more, I engage marginalized people in hard conversations that grow curiosity and affirm and incite courage for speaking their truths to power and pathways for healing our collective social ills.
Work sample: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/angryblackwoman/410208997
Website: www.yomamashouse.com
Contact: kubatamoke@gmail.com
Anne Krocak – Community Public Artist and Visual Artist
Bio: For over 40 years Anne has worked as a visual artist and teacher, won numerous awards, and conducted public art residencies. Her work is throughout the U.S., most notably at Children’s Hospital Minneapolis Campus, the Smithsonian, and the CDC. In 2009 she received the Jahney-Arts Access Award from VSA Minnesota, recognizing her as an outstanding artist educator of the year. In 2011 she received a National Fellowship from VSA National and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Artist statement: Weaving Anne’s skills as a visual artist, teacher, and public artist together, Anne works to bring marginalized people into the center while creating a greater sense of community. Anne, who has lived with multiple sclerosis for more than 30 years, understands the importance and power of moving beyond perceived limitations and works to bring this awareness and accessibility to all of her artist participants.
Website: www.annekrocak.com
Contact: annekrocak@aol.com
Ashley Wilkes – Digital Artist
Bio: I’ve been on the cutting edge of innovative digital art, both still and motion, for 50 years or more. My last curated exhibit was at IFP. Twice I have been a winner in the MIFF; in 1980 and 1981. Since my IFP digital art exhibit in 2007 I was in a near fatal accident. It took me 11 years to reach some level of reasonable functioning, both in everyday living and as an artist.
Artist statement: I never know beforehand what kind of work of art I am going to create. Everything that flows onto my digital canvases comes from my subconscious. Much of the content could be considered part of the “collective consciousness”. There are many universal symbols that appear on my work but not intentionally.
Contact: wilke001@umn.edu
Dan Wahl – Visual and Public Participatory Artist
Bio: Dan Wahl is an artist and writer born of the prairie land of Southwest Minnesota.
Artist statement: For decades I’ve been asking people, “Would you please draw me a horse?” Invariably, friends and strangers alike pick up the pen I hold out to them. A file cabinet of horse drawings, almost all of them naïve, attests that anyone can draw if they’re invited; if they’re welcomed without criticism. Somehow, assured that they can, people do. They feel reassured. They draw a horse. A range of emotions from painful to proud accompany the drawings. Even so, many people want to share their horses. The participants do what artists do: push through uncertainty to create something new. It helps if you don’t doubt your horses, your internal strengths, the bearers of your artistic self. Over the years my impulse to engage the public began to manifest as participatory exhibits.
Work sample: https://youtu.be/E4WiSJQ-aww
Website: http://www.galleryivy.com/
Contact: danwahl@yahoo.com
Darby Laing – Mixed Media Artist
Bio: Three years ago I made a career change from being an arts professional in graphic design and advertising to becoming an art teacher, at age 50, with Multiple Sclerosis. I’ve made artwork since I graduated from my undergrad in 1993. I’ve probably shown in a few shows but I can’t remember. At the Tweed Art Museum back when I was a student. Mostly I’m a behind-the-scenes-mentor kind of artist. I enjoy encouraging others in their work.
Artist statement: I like to incorporate natural materials and found objects left in the area where I live. My work is mixed media drawing with graphite, watercolor, and acrylic painting. I like to explore the intersections where private home worlds hide, coexist, and collide with community and global environments.
Contact: darby.laing@gmail.com
Deborah Costandine – Mixed Media Artist
Bio: Lifelong artist and art therapist.
Artist statement: When I can, I like to sculpt. I also like ceramics, fabric, and other materials to explore with.
Contact: costandine@gmail.com
Donna Ray – Ceramic/Clay/Pottery Artist
Bio: Donna Ray is a ceramic artist who started at Artistry in Bloomington and is now a BISQUE Resident at Northern Clay Center. She created the mini public art project “Messages in a Bottle”. She was assigned to work on and design the letter “I” for the Minneapolis Black Lives Matter Mural. She writes “Donna’s Corner” for the Minnesota Women Ceramic Artists newsletter.
Artist statement: I love working on cameos & baskets. They tell stories about all the cultures and ecosystems around the world. I believe art to be social, historical, and educational. I make the art for community to have conversations about their relationships with art and its place in society. I love textures and interactive art projects.
Website: https://www.instagram.com/spiritmovesdonna/
Contact: spiritmovesdonna@gmail.com
Donnaraymessagesinabottle@gmail.com
Kandace Krause – Intuitive Artist
Bio: Painting intuitively allows me to meditate with my hands. I was in an art collective through Avivo Artworks from 2014 to 2018 and am now an alumni. I have displayed at many venues such as coffee shops, the Minnesota History Theater, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Artist statement: Art is a visual image I use to express my emotions while navigating depression. Rather than let depressive experiences become the core of who I am, I turn to my paint brush, which places colors of emotion on the canvas. It all becomes an extension of who I am or want to be and brings me the positive energy to move forward.
Website: artbykandace.weebly.com
Contact: kojonyae@gmail.com
Marie Cooney – Storyteller
Bio: I started hosting storytelling events through Zoom meetings with local and national guests at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, I have told stories at Patrick’s Cabaret, Strike Theater, Golden Thyme Coffee, OUTspoken, KFAI Radio, and the MN Fringe Festival 2019 among other places.
Artist statement: The granddaughter of Irish immigrants, I learned at an early age the importance of the Irish bards: the storytellers, historians, singers, musicians, and more within families and communities. I use stories from short-term and long-term memory as a way to entertain and create ways to improve challenges from the traumatic brain injuries I sustained while working in the theater.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/MarieCooneyStories/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsVvZccPYmD8_SItQ569u0Q
Contact: MarieCooneyStories@gmail.com
Melinda Weir – Fine Art Photographer
Bio: I started photography when I was in elementary school and haven’t stopped! I’ve shown at Dow Art Gallery, Art-A-Whirl, Artability, and multiple smaller events.
Artist statement: My favorite fine art photography subjects are nature, landscape, architecture, and animals. All prints are on archival quality metallic paper, bringing out the depth and colors of each piece.
Website: www.fineartprintsbymelinda.com
www.facebook.com/FineArtPrintsByMelinda
Contact: melindarweir@gmail.com
Nicole Milligan – Visual Artist
Bio: In 2016 Nicole Mary Milligan, formerly known as novelist N.M.Kelby, was pushed down several flights of stairs and beaten by a student. In that moment, everything changed, and now, with the help of others, she designs large scale installations that celebrate unity and joy.
Artist statement: Childhood toys, color, forgotten history, and the music of rain—these are my materials. I am interested in creating works of unbridled joy rooted in decay and remembering.
Work Sample: https://www.edinamn.gov/1639/School-of-Fish
Website: www.themilliganstudio.com
Contact: themilliganstudio@gmail.com
Parker Genné – Performing and Producing Interdisciplinary Artist
Bio: For the last decade I have created music-theater and cabaret works, combining my love of stories – personal, historical, folk – into multidisciplinary productions. I have performed and produced work in venues across the U.S. and internationally at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with comedy cabaret Ms. Luisa Eats, as the co-founder and former Artistic Director of Impossible Salt. I have co-created 7 original music-theater productions, and now with my performing and producing company Folktopia partnered with the American Swedish Institute, Belwin Conservancy, MacPhail Spotlight Series, the Struthers Parkinson Center, and other community gathering spaces.
Artist statement: My work is driven by a want to create an artistic experience for people of all generations to feel welcome, and to heal my body. I utilize music and movement as a starting point for creation and stories as a framework or meaningful reference for all our lives, asking questions like: how do audience & artist perceptions around age and ability change when an intergenerational group of artists are performing, both inside and outside of the stereotypical roles for a certain age group? And/or do societal gender roles evolve when a female character is eating large amounts of food onstage while singing and encouraging audience to eat and sing with her?
Work sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ixL1RCLeeI
Website: www.parkergenne.com
Contact: parkergenne@gmail.com
Simon Carvalho – Photographer
Bio: My passion with photography started during a major depression. Unable to communicate on any level, I explored my surroundings with a camera. Discovering tiny creatures I had never seen before in the beauty of neighbors’ gardens was the beginning of my curiosity, along with the challenge of capturing life seen in 3D to presentation in 2D with photography.
Artist statement: I explore the feminine, the masculine, and the what-the-heck-is-it of our beautiful and puzzling universe; how color, moisture, shape, and texture give a body or object its own memorable character. It is ART to see 3D still life, and movement of bees and birds and models, crystallize into the nano-second stopped-action presentation of 2D photography.
Website: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/s-carvalho?tab=artwork
Contact: insleep@gmail.com
Stephen Trevino – Abstract Expressionist
Bio: I started creating art started at the age of 12 and it has been a means of expressing my growth, understanding of art, and the world around me. I have had solo shows and participated in group shows.
Artist statement: I consider myself a painter and a mixed media artist. Layers, textures, balance, and color are my prime focus and practice.
Work sample: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/stephen_trevino?sub_action=designs
Website: https://www.solidaritystreetgallery.org/
Contact: stephenrtrevino@gmail.com
T Clemen – Doodle Illustrator
Bio: I’ve been fortunate enough to have had my art proudly displayed on people’s refrigerators for over 30 years.
Artist statement: Drawing takes me to quiet, empty spaces where anything is possible. A sheet of paper, a Ticonderoga, and plenty of extra erasers is bliss.
Contact: mermastastic@mermastastic.com
Tara Innmon – Writer and Visual Artist
Bio: Tara Arlene Innmon always loved art. When she began losing vision she quit her job as an Occupational Therapist and became a full-time artist; the joy of creation lessoned the pain of loss and gave purpose to her life. She exhibited her art across the country. She received an MFA in writing in 2008, and is working on a memoir. Her cards and prints are at The Art Shoppe at the Midtown Global Market.
Contact: tarainnmon@gmail.com
Val Barnes – Singer/Songwriter
Bio: I love all kinds of music and I have sung with bands in college, community organizations, and sang alongside other disabled artists with Interact Theatre.
Artist statement: I would love to create a small invitation-only Summer, Holiday, Spring, and Fall Jazz Jam event where everyone is assigned tables with their guests, free food is pre-ordered, the musicians play and explore, and the audience enjoys the sounds.
Contact: valbarnes2001@gmail.com
Zane Gerus – Multimedia Painter and Sculptor, Occasional Poet
Bio: I started writing poems in 2nd grade – 60 years ago. Then I began painting & drawing in 1980, when the real fun started. My work has been shown locally, nationally, and in Brussels, Belgium.
Artist statement: I paint and create found object sculpture as inspired by the Holy Spirit. My mission is to contrast and share my worlds with the worlds around me.
Contact: zanegerus@icloud.com
Susan Jansen – Artist
Bio: At age 7, I was commanded that there would be no artists in our family. I responded, ”I am an artist; that is what I want to be, and what I am going to be.” I have been displaying, showing, and sharing my creations for 70 years, and this has been world wide – throughout and across the United States and Canada, Mexico, Peru, Belize, china, Japan.
Artist statement: The world is my medium and everything, and anything, is potential material as it presents itself to me for use: I use it via mix and match. I make what comes to me from my inner advisor/soul/vision, or from spirit’s link – and usually materials are included, or the material comes first, then the inner envisioning. My materials are largely from nature, and I ask/am given permission from all my relations whether this is a good idea (use of materials, message to put out). My creations are an extension of my self.
Contact: suejansen.beingart@me.com
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