Enabling Artistries: Displays of 19th-C. Creativity, Disability, & Freedom

Please join New York University Libraries for the exhibition opening of Enabling Artistries: Displays of 19th-Century Creativity, Disability, and Freedom, which showcases the extraordinary works of nineteenth-century visual and performance artists working primarily with silhouettes and navigating boundaries of creativity and achievement as persons with unique status and ability in U.S. culture. Highlighted is artwork by Martha Ann Honeywell, Sarah Rogers, Saunders Ken Grems Nellis, and Moses Williams, along with contextual materials that situate them in the early-mid nineteenth century. Enabling Artistries highlights how artistic practice and expression serve as gateways to personal autonomy and freedom.

Enabling Artistries is based on Mouth & Toes: The World of 19th-Century Silhouette Artists with Disabilities, a collection of moving panoramas, printed scrolls, and handheld flip books as well as an eBook and virtual exhibition, created by Tisch School of the Arts Professor Marianne R. Petit and Laurel Daen, Assistant Professor of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

In addition to the nineteenth-century reproductions, Petit's artworks, and Daen and Petit's book, the show features items from the private collection of NYU Associate Vice President for Global Programs William R. Pruitt III and tactile interpretations by artist Stefanie Koseff. The show has been co-curated by Petit, Daen, Roxane Pickens, Community Engagement Librarian, and Elizabeth Verrelli, Associate Director of Engagement at NYU Libraries.

Enabling Artistries: Displays of 19th-Century Creativity, Disability, and Freedom will be on view in Bobst Gallery (Bobst Library, 1st Floor) from October 15th - December 15th.

Host or Publisher NYU Libraries