About this project

Thank you so much for visiting A Somewhat Secret Place: Disability and Art on Kickstarter. We hope that you choose to pledge!

What is A Somewhat Secret Place: Disability and Art?  It is an art exhibition conceived and curated by Catherine J. H. Miller that is now a project under the OWCA.  The exhibition will take place from July 7th through 30th at PRESENTspace Gallery at 939 NW Glisan Street, Portland Oregon 97209.  It will include a long list of community-building events that can be found on our blog and our Facebook page.

The Oregon Women’s Caucus for the Arts believes in equality, which is why the OWCA is excited to be a co-sponsor of A Somewhat Secret Place.  This show has real potential to change the art world and make it more inclusive. Twenty-eight works of art, literature and performance from artists and writers with and without disabilities will be featured in this exhibition.  Ms. Miller's curation will stimulate an international conversation to show that artists and writers with disabilities are capable of broadening the idea of what is considered fine art and the common understanding of art history.

The arts are perhaps the highest endeavor of our culture, and to present the arts in a way where they cannot be enjoyed and learned from by all people is a shame. Unfortunately, it is often the case that the arts are widely inaccessible, and the proof is written on the wall of most galleries in 8 point font. Disability is a common and normal part of being human, but people with disabilities are not given full access to the art world. This means that there is a piece of our human story left untold, because the public has not been able to see a part of its own human family.

It is time that we talk about why this is so, and offer possible solutions to the issue of exclusion of artists, performing artists and writers with disabilities, because the exclusion affects us all. Our goal is to facilitate the conversation, and start talking about possible solutions. This is a complicated problem, but together we will learn and we will make things better.  We want to expand the experience of art for everyone.

We hope that today you decide that this project represents the kind of art that you want to exist. We’re asking you to help pay for the basic gallery operations, such as event insurance and rent. If we get more money we will pay for staffing, and more importantly for the artists’ and writers’ honoraria.  We would really like to give these wonderful artists a stipend for the time they spent helping to make this show a reality.  If we are able to raise more than what we need for basic operational costs, that is exactly what we will do.