San Francisco nonprofit, Creativity Explored, highlights artists with disabilities

SAN FRANCISCO - It's close to lunchtime on a bustling Monday morning at Creativity Explored in San Francisco's Mission District. 

Committed to the cause

Paul Moshammer is the director of studios and programs. He's been working in a managerial capacity for the last 22 years, but at this art studio, he has given his heart and hard work for the past 35 years. 

"Generally what happens here is artists work on their artwork," said Moshammer. The nonprofit organization with a studio and gallery on 16th Street, allows artists with disabilities to thrive in an environment with their peers, but it also connects them to the artist community. 

It's a few days before their ambitious exhibit, ‘Places for People’ debuts, the work will be on display through Nov. 8. The organization has five exhibitions a year. After November's exhibit will be the annual Holiday Art Shop. For now, artists are busy creating their works in the studio. The walls are plastered with current artists' work, but also by generations of artists who came before. 

"Actually, I started here more than 35 years ago as a volunteer," said Moshammer. "And I came from Austria and I studied art there. I was really intrigued by art back then, by the art of the mentally ill." 

This is the nonprofit's area of expertise. Along with their Mission District location, they are also located in Potrero Hill. 

"We serve over 140 adult artists each year and over 600 young people – most of them with disabilities each year as well," Linda Johnson, Creativity Explored's executive director, said. "We started in 1983. Our amazing founders, Florence and Elias Katz founded this organization to respond to the needs of people with disabilities and the deinstitutionalization of individuals from state facilities." 

Moshammer said years ago, it was his wife who alerted him that such a place existed. 

"So I came in here and was totally overwhelmed…literally by the power of what was going on here, by the power of art making, and I was like, ‘OK, I want to volunteer here,’ and yeah, early 1990, I started volunteering here," Moshammer said. 

Johnson says just about all the staff who work directly with artists are trained artists themselves and have a presence in the contemporary art world of their own. 

"It's an amazing staff that works here," Moshammer said. 

He describes the staff as amazingly committed and engaged. 

"It's way beyond just a job. It really…like your heart has to be in it and it's literally, with everybody who works here…their heart is in it and so often they go way beyond the job description if you will."

Hum of creative activity 

Johnson agrees. "I think that's one of the main reasons that we all love being here so much is kind of the hum of activity, of creativity, all the beautiful work of many, many years that's covering our walls, kind of seemingly every square inch of this place." 

In the studio, you get a wide range of people on the autism spectrum. Isaias Gomez is seen shading part of his drawing. You can tell he takes pride in his work as he does this fine-tuning. He speaks confidently about his creation: a poster meant to look like a playing card, but based on the film ‘Fight Club’. His depictions of Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are at opposite ends of the card, much like a King of Hearts would be displayed on a playing card. 

He says he also likes to create art depicting lowrider culture. On his featured artists page on the nonprofit's website, it says he draws both digitally and with traditional graphite. They say he has an "expert eye for proportion and perspective."  

"What you mostly see is drawing and painting," said Moshammer. "But artists are working in digital, Photoshop, digital prints, printmaking, artists working on embroidery, and ceramics is a really big, important program. Also, artists work in film, like animation." 

Another artist, Loren King, has written and illustrated a book called ‘Hope’. He shows it off by turning every page but chooses not to read aloud. His signature style can be seen on the nonprofits' sandwich-board sidewalk sign. His ‘Gallery Open’ sign is immortalized in an enamel pin featured for sale on the nonprofit's website. It's one of the ways you can support artists. 

Meeting artists' needs

"Most of the artists that Creativity Explored serves are low income and receive public assistance," Johnson said. "The 50% that they typically earn when selling their work makes an enormous difference in many folks' lives, in terms of being able to take a vacation, buy things that they want, go out and have a great time, treat family and friends, and we're so happy that we're there to provide that opportunity for them." 

Some of the renowned art institutions in the Bay and beyond are taking note of their inspiring work in prominent ways. 

"The artists at Creativity Explored are some of the most incredible creators that I know," said Johnson. "Their work has been collected by SFMOMA and by the Oakland Museum of California. They're in dozens of exhibitions each year all over the state, the country, and the world."

"Some artists are really excited for the spotlight and some are a little bit shy, so it's just different people's personalities," Harriet Salmon, Creativity Explored's director of art partnerships said.

She talks about the organization's person-first philosophy. 

"How the artist wants their work to be spoken about, we follow. If I could talk about this artwork in the contemporary art world without mentioning that my artists have disabilities, that would be ideal. So to kind of pigeonhole them by their disability, I think, is unfair," Salmon said. "Just because you have a disability doesn't mean you can't make incredible artworks." 

As the artists work on their projects, some beam with pride as they show off their creations. 

"I like it here," said King. He holds his book, ‘Hope,’ open to the last page. The words ‘The End’ are written in his penmanship. "I feel great. I feel happy." 

Get involved

What's next:

Creativity Explored's gallery is open to the public on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. With a recent grant they received, they will be able to host an art fair at 215 Fremont Street in Downtown San Francisco in January.  

Have a story tip or idea for Andre? Email Contact Andre at andre.torrez@fox.com or (510) 874-0579.

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