That's a wrap! 📬📦🛍 All ordered are fulfilled!
Thank you so much for supporting local artists this year. It means a lot always, but certainly during this challenging situation.
We will be back in studio Monday, January 4th. Any new orders that arrive between then and now, we will begin to process that week.
Have a safe and healthy holiday season, everyone. We're looking forward to 2021 together! 💙
Brian Sime has work on exhibit in the UW Hospital’s Atrium. Brian’s work will be on display throughout December and January, brightening the halls for healthcare workers and patients at UW Hospital.
ArtWorking is closed this week for an extended Thanksgiving Break. We will back in studio next Monday, December 7th.
Pop Up Orders are almost ready to go out!
We'll be shipping packages on Friday morning.
Curbside Pickup is on Friday from 10-2pm. We've also added an additional day for Curbside Pickup this Saturday from 10-2pm.
When you arrive at AW to pick up your order, please call 608-442-5294 and we will bring out your package!
ArtWorking is at 1966 S. Stoughton Rd.
Thank so much for all the support! We can't wait to send out all of these beautiful things!
The Virtual Pop Up Sale and unveiling of the ArtWorking Online Shop was a great success!
THANK YOU to everyone who supported us and found beautiful new artwork and gifts!
An online shop has been years in the making, and we couldn’t be happier to finally unveil it. We’re pleased to be able to offer original art, handmade gifts, and art inspired products by every artist ArtWorking represents.
• Shipping available! Packages ship out every Friday.
• Curbside Pickup is available at the studio. Every Friday from 10-2pm.
• An additional Curbside Pickup day has been added on Nov 21, 10-2pm, for Pop Up orders.
Governor Tony Evers announced that $15 million in COVID-19 Cultural Organization Grants has been awarded to 385 cultural organizations across Wisconsin. ArtWorking is pleased to announce that we are a recipient!
“Just like small businesses, cultural organizations have taken a major financial hit,” said DOA Secretary Joel Brennan. “We’re all in this together. We hope that these funds will make it possible for us to be able to enjoy the museums, theaters, and music from these organizations once it is safe to do so again.”
Administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), the COVID-19 Cultural Organizations Grant program provides grants to nonprofit organizations whose primary missions are to produce, present, or exhibit cultural disciplines such as music, dance, theater, literature, and the visual arts, or items of environmental or scientific interest. Grant awards can be used to cover pandemic-related impacts such as lost revenue, increased workers compensation costs, cleaning and sanitization, and purchases of services or equipment to facilitate telework by employees.
Thank you Governor Evers and DOA Secretary Joel Brennan for this award!
More information regarding the COVID-19 Cultural Organization Grant Program is available HERE. A full list of grant winners is available HERE.
We’ve been back at the studio for 8 weeks now, with limited capacity and safety measures well in place.
Thankful to find safe ways to continue our work together. We remain closed to the public, but open to resident artists. Cheers to finding creative ways forward!
Pictured Above: Chloe Hougan, Romano Johnson, Briana Richardson and Cara Swedeen.
Dear supporters, stakeholders, and colleagues,
We would like to take a moment to declare our solidarity and support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony Robinson, and countless other black lives that have been lost as a result of violence against the black community. We appreciate and support the efforts of Urban Triage, Freedom Inc, Free the 350 Bail Fund, and the other individuals and organizations doing the important work of addressing the legacy of systemized racism and oppression within our society.
The disability rights movement is a direct beneficiary of the ongoing work that has been done by the black and African American communities around civil rights, equity and social justice. ArtWorking values this important work, and acknowledges the impossibility of realizing full inclusion and equity for people with disabilities, without simultaneously addressing and correcting the disparities and injustices that persist for people of color. These disparities are especially grave within our local communities and there is much work to be done.
At this point the ArtWorking team would like to state our commitment to doing the work to address systemic and structural racism is whatever forms it takes. We are far from perfect and have a great deal to learn. We are committed to learning about antiracism and social justice work, to listening to and learning from black voices and leaders, and to taking cues from the black community about what actions we can take that are necessary and useful to continue working toward equality.
We strongly believe that we cannot in good faith advocate for the rights and freedoms of people with disabilities without addressing the racial inequalities that exist in our community. We simply cannot fulfill our mission in isolation from these issues.
Sincerely,
Lance Owens
Director of ArtWorking
Photo: ArtWorking artists Romano Johnson, left, and Brianna Richardson. Photo by Lance Owens.
Below is an except from Scott Gordon’s article, published on Tone Madison, 13 April 2020.
Access the full article and audio here.
ART, BUSINESS, CONDUIT, PODCAST, INTERVIEW, LISTEN
A conversation about the Madison non-profit's efforts to support artists with disabilities.
Madison non-profit ArtWorking plays a unique role in Madison's arts landscape, not only showcasing artists with disabilities but also helping those artists sell their work and build up small businesses. ArtWorking's 6,000-square-foot facility on South Stoughton Road encompasses studios with equipment for printmaking, ceramics, and woodworking, plus a retail storefront. All of that has been closed down since March 11, creating new challenges for the organization and the dozens of artists it supports.
ArtWorking Program Director Lance Owens and Assistant Director Laura Falkenberg joined us on the April 9 edition of Conduit, a livestream collaboration between Tone Madison, Communication, and UnderBelly. They talked about the organization's underlying philosophy and how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted their efforts. All of ArtWorking's staff has been temporarily laid off or furloughed to help preserve the funds the organization brings in from private sources and Medicaid. They're still working on supporting the artists when and how they can, and hope to have an online store set up soon.
The decision to close ArtWorking's physical space was particularly urgent because the organization supports so many people with underlying health conditions and compromised immune systems. By the same token, the kind of work ArtWorking does is at times impossible to do remotely. "Some people also have barriers to technology that are harder to overcome at this time," Falkenberg says. "They might not have a laptop or a phone or the ability to do this, or they may also be non-verbal... so much of what we do, we do subtly in a physical space together, and so that's really compromised by trying to ad hoc it in this way, though it's great to hear from people and great to see them when we can."
The emotional impact was obvious during our conversation. "I miss these people," Owens says.
Commissions and opportunities for ArtWorking's artists to sell their work have largely dried up over the past month, and some can't do their work without access to specific equipment and materials. But this also points to a strength of ArtWorking's philosophy—letting artists find their own way of doing things, and encouraging them to communicate about what they want and disagree with staff suggestions if it feels right.
"We do a lot of talking to each other and a lot of research on how to uphold the artist's vision first and foremost, before my vision or anyone's vision or the trend of the time," Falkenberg says.
ArtWorking is a Madison-based nonprofit program that provides career development and support for artists and entrepreneurs with disabilities.
