By Lydia Kirkpatrick

Staff Writer

MARPLE, Pa. — On Thursday, April 2, Delaware County Community College welcomed Lori Bartol to the stage for an hour-long talk regarding her progressive art studio, the Center for Creative Works (CCW), and the Progressive Art Movement.

Bartol received her bachelor’s degree from the Tyler School of Art, and while she spent her postgraduate years in Germany, she eventually returned to the Philadelphia area to further pursue her career. In 2010, Bartol founded the CCW, an art studio that supports and establishes artists who have intellectual disabilities. What started as a single studio has blossomed into multiple locations in Wynnewood and Philadelphia, Pa. These studios are dedicated to giving creative individuals the space, materials, education, and community that drive artistic expression.

In these spaces, artists can explore various mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture, music, collage, fiber arts, woodworking, and printmaking. Bartol’s studios serve to aid artists in both the development and the distribution or showcasing of their work.

An integral part of Bartol’s mission is to ensure that artists with mental and physical disabilities are treated with the same respect and professionalism as those in the mainstream arts. CCW achieves this by not only fostering an inclusive and supportive environment but also by providing career-building services to members. This includes resume and CV building, portfolio management, exhibition opportunities, community outreach, and commercial partnerships.

Bartol highlighted some of her artists’ career successes, such as Cindy Gosselin’s various exhibitions and commissions and Brandon Spicer-Crawley’s mural for Sprocket Mural Works in Harrisburg. She also noted brand partnerships with companies like Method, Bounty, Urban Outfitters, and Vans. Bartol mentioned more broadly the success of the Progressive Art Movement, noting that now more than ever, artists with disabilities are welcomed and praised for their work in the same ways neurotypical individuals have been in the past.

Bartol’s talk covered the history of artmaking and the different movements that have allowed for these advancements in creative acceptance, starting with the Art Brut movement that arose after World War II. This was a time when society was mistrusting of large corporations and sought to support smaller, independent creators. She spoke about Adolf Wölfli, a Swiss artist who spent much of his life in a psychiatric clinic due to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. His example provided the audience with a deeper understanding of how limitations of material and environment do very little to suppress one’s artistic expression.

Bartol explained that even through the Art Brut movement, while neurodivergent artists’ work was being praised (mostly post-mortem), living disabled artists were still being kept on the fringes of society. She went on to speak about the Outsider Art movement, which goes hand-in-hand with Art Brut, where institutions would appreciate the works but failed to support the living artists behind them.

The Progressive Art Movement is a modern approach to incorporating intellectually and physically disabled artists into the contemporary art scene. This means giving these artists the same opportunities and access that neurotypical artists have.

“As it expands, it continues to expand how the art world defines creativity, and how the rest of society views the potential for people with intellectual disabilities,” Bartol said.

Bartol has built her career on helping others succeed and making space for that to occur. She and her team of educators and support staff work tirelessly to ensure equity and inclusion in the art community.

“Inclusion is not just a temporary trend; it’s part of a larger shift to a more accurate and more complete understanding of the human experience,” Bartol said.

For more on Lori Bartol and the Center for Creative Works, visit https://www.centerforcreativeworks.org/