Dec, 20, 2023
Special InstallationsMedia Alerts
New community art installation featuring work by neurodivergent artists coming soon to Phoenix Art Museum administration building
Safety Blankets: Discourse on Neurodivergence to open January Creative Saturday
PHOENIX (December 20, 2023) – This winter, the Phoenix Art Museum Education and Engagement team will install a new community-art installation titled Safety Blankets: Discourse on Neurodivergence in the Museum’s administration building. The installation showcases quilt and textile works by 15 artists from Arizona and across the U.S. who depict their lives and experiences as neurodivergent people. Organized by Charissa Lucille and supported in part by the City of Phoenix’s New Artist to Work Grant, it aims to disrupt misconceptions, spark connections and discourse, and challenge the meaning of neurodivergence. Safety Blankets: Discourse on Neurodivergence will open to the public on Creative Saturday on January 13, 2024 in the community art space located in the Museum’s administration building. The event will feature artist presentations from 10 am – noon.
“This installation includes artwork that is tactile, inviting viewers to step into the artwork, materials, and stories around their work,” said Tiffany Lippincott, Curator of Education at Phoenix Art Museum. “Art has the ability to connect us all. Our hope is that this installation builds connections and understanding.”
Safety Blankets: Discourse on Neurodivergence features textile works by artists Sheena Cly Wahid, Yolie Contreras, Alice Costas, Phoenix Alvarado, Alistair Malone, Layla Nieves, Ari Rendon, Caroline Wilson, Aaron Davis, Michelle Dawn, Chris Leon Armarillas, Maira McDermott, Janelle Novotny, vivid schisms, and Charissa Lucille. The installation is organized by Lucille, an artist and arts administrator based in Phoenix who works with quilting, self-publishes zines, and explores genetics, access needs, and communication styles related to their neurodivergence through their personal practice. Safety Blankets offers textile representations of neurodivergent experiences and includes 10 intentional universal design elements for neurodivergent and disabled people. The fabrics evoke an expanded understanding of encounters artists may have and what occurs within their minds and bodies.
The installation is accompanied by an audio component, available via in-gallery QR codes. There will also be various education programs inspired by the exhibition announced on a later date. To learn more about the project and its forthcoming catalogue (May 2024), visit charissalucille.com and follow @safetyblankets on Instagram.
High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.
About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.