The Importance of Art During the Pandemic

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*Please note that faces have been blurred to comply with HIPAA Privacy Policies.

Before creating this post, there was a push from the Marketing Coordinator and Director of Community and Employment Services to increase outreach for the art program. I volunteered to write a blog post that contributed to their initiative. This post was also inspired by a recent photo we received of a client sculpting a monster face. I wanted to show that art was not only important in keeping people entertained while quarantined, but it allows people to have the chance to do more than they had ever imagined. These folks did everything from selling their art to donating it to charities. I was proud to support them and show our audience that despite needing accessible tools, their art is worthy and beautiful. I used HTML and CSS to code the blog post and make sure the photos and text aligned nicely.

Art is more than just a hobby at Imagine!. For people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD), the creation of art is a journey of self-expression, independence, education, and more. That is why the art program at Imagine! is so incredibly crucial to creating a world of opportunity for all abilities. When the pandemic hit last year, the art program had to shift from in-person to virtual, but it never stopped the creative flow of many artists receiving services. Imagine! offered a number of different art-focused virtual programs, from art history to watercolors, to choose from, so that artists could explore all forms of art. The Imagine! instructors who lead these classes are just as passionate about art as the students and lead the classes in such a way to garner creativity, practice empathy, and encourage the artists to continue doing what they love. As the pandemic prolonged the safe at home quarantine, those in services continued to create in new and inspiring ways during and after the virtual classes. Some artists would dedicate their time to creating cards for charity, others would sculpt monster faces. So while the world remained indoors, the folks with I/DD at Imagine! were hard at work painting, sculpting, and designing creations beyond our wildest imaginations.

Some students took their art a step further and worked with Imagine! employees to sell their pieces on Etsy. They even had the option to turn their art into anything from leggings to Valentine’s Day cards. So while they spent their time creating awe-inspiring works of art, the Imagine! team worked diligently to promote their creations on social media and beyond. The proceeds from each purchase on Etsy go directly to the artist and allows them to profit from their hard work. Of course, if you are interested in purchasing any art you can do so by heading over to the Etsy store: Imagine! Colorado Etsy Store.

So while creating art might be a hobby to some, it’s a major part of helping to create a world of opportunity for all abilities. Through the creation of art, these artists are showing the world that while they might need an adaptive paintbrush or a communication device to select colors, their art is no less impactful or worthy.

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