Location: Detroit and Ann Arbor, MI

Dates: October 5-8, 2026 

The Creating Community Conference brings together artists and professionals from progressive art studios* across the United States and beyond, along with professionals active in disability arts, rights, and theory, to discuss best practices, advocacy, and the evolving landscape of art and disability. This annual event, a Creative Growth initiative launched in Oakland, CA in 2019, aims to foster dialogue and collaboration around the importance of inclusive creative spaces for artists with developmental disabilities and mental health differences. 

This year's conference will be hosted in Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is locally organized and led by the Progressive Art Studio Collective (PASC), with support from the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities and Library Street Collective. National administration and strategic support is being provided by Creative Growth, in collaboration with the Progressive Art Studio Alliance (PASA). 

CCC7 invites both internal (studio staff and artists) and external (general public) audiences to engage with the art and practice of progressive art studios. The conference covers a range of topics from hands-on studio practice, exhibiting, collecting and representing artists with disabilities, self-taught art, outsider art, disability studies, mental health, radical pedagogy and more, expanding the conversation on platforming the creative production of marginalized communities, opening up the art world to disabled artists, and the transformative power of art. 

TO PURCHASE TICKETS FOLLOW THIS LINK

Financial Support
If you would like to attend the conference, but need financial assistance and are based in Michigan, visit the Michigan Arts and Cultural Council (MACC) Scholarship for the 7th Annual Creating Communities Conference (CCC7) link to complete the form. Filling out the form does not guarantee financial assistance. For further questions, go to About/contact and use the contact form or use this link to contact us.

For scholarships outside of Michigan, please fill out this general financial assistance form. Filling out the form does not guarantee financial assistance. 

ABBREVIATED CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

* Please note some presenters and lecturers are still being finalized. We will continue to update this list when all presenters have been confirmed.  

Monday, October 5, 2026: Arrival Day

5:00-6:30PM: Welcome gathering and drinks at Father Forgive Me, Little Village, Detroit

6:45-8PM: Father Forgive Me, Little Village, Detroit Restaurant

Tuesday, October 6, 2026: First Full Conference Day
Location: The Shepherd, 1265 Parkview St, Detroit, MI 48214

8:30-9:00AM: Registration (registration will be open throughout the day)

9:00-9:10AM: Opening Remarks, Go over symposium schedule

9:10-10:30AM: Icebreaker: Our Shared Experiences

This session will consist of an icebreaker for all symposium attendees to get to know each other and understand shared challenges and successes. Randomized groups will be formed and led by several conversation prompts.

10:30-11:15AM: New Studio Presentations: How We Got Here.

Presenters: Solange Roberdeau, Marketing and Outreach Coordinator, Art Explorers, CA; Lydia Glenn-Murray, Studio Director and Co-Founder, Studio Route 29, NJ; and Debbie Applepresser, Lead Artist, Planet Joy, OH. Moderated by Sunny Smith, Executive Director, Creative Growth, CA.

Presentations by several newer studios on their formation, growth, struggles, and triumphs along the way. Short presentations followed by a panel discussion 
 
11:15-11:30AM: Break

11:30AM-12:15PM: ABLE, Trusts and Managing Funding for Artists with Disabilities.

Presenter: Jeff Light, ChSNC™, MI

This presentation by Jeff Light, ChSNC™, will focus on payment challenges for PAS artists. It will address the process of establishing payment systems, in particular those that encourage greater integration, freedom, and job growth. Presenters will be guided by specific questions from studios regarding art sales, ABLE accounts, trusts, and other financial questions.

12:15-1:00PM: Lunch (provided)

1:00-1:30PM: Blackness and Disability: Intersections and Insights

Presenter: Amber Nax, Gallery Assistant, PASC, MI

Exploring the intersection of Disability Studies and Black Studies, this presentation by Amber Nax offers a cultural context through a historical lens, examining the shortcomings of racist medical institutions and asylums, and highlights recent progress in the field.

1:30-2:00PM: Studio Facilitation Presentation 1: Somewhere Between Knowing and Not Knowing, Facilitating Conditions for Creativity

Presenter: Brian Kavanaugh, Founder, Creativity-Ability, NY

This presentation by Brian Kavanaugh explores facilitation as a creative practice, examining how facilitators create conditions for meaningful decision-making, growth, and discovery.

2:00-2:30PM: Studio Facilitation Presentation 3: Building Community with Disability Drawing Club

Presenter: Renée Reizman, Independent, VT

This presentation and short workshop introduces people to Disability Drawing Club (DDC), a social practice project founded by Renée Reizman. Part hangout, part drawing workshop, DDC is a free, safe space for people with disabilities, chronic illness, and mental illness to speak unapologetically about their bodies.

2:30-2:45PM: Break

2:45-3:15PM: Studio Facilitation Presentation 4: Tools of the Trade: Adaptive Practices and Creative Community

Presenter: Tara Tucker, Art instructor and Head of Rug Department, Creative Growth, CA

Throughout Creative Growth's history, facilitators and artists have worked together to discover and implement techniques and tools that support the artist's vision and practical access to expressions of creativity. In this talk, CG Facilitator Tara Tucker will share her experiences and institutional knowledge relative to inclusion and accessibility. As well as the establishment of the studio's rug department, a direct link and source of innovation in accessibility and community collaboration.

3:15-3:45PM: Finding Connection Through Art: Independent Learning, Mixed Media, and Neurodiverse Creativity

Presenter(s): John Behnke, Artist, Project Onward, IL and Robyn Jablonski, Administrator, PASA, IL

This artist talk by John Behkne explores how art became a tool for communication, self-expression, and independence. The presentation will also include a live mixed-media demonstration using illustration board, alcohol markers, archival pens, gel pens, and paint pens. 

3:45-4:15PM: History in the Making: Academic Partnerships with Progressive Art Studios

Presenter: Professor Pepper Stetler, Miami University, OH, and V + V Artists, OH

This panel will examine a productive collaboration that began in the spring of 2026 between the Visionaries and Voices studio of Cincinnati, Ohio, students at Miami University (Oxford, OH), and Professor Pepper Stetler. The partnership developed through a course on Art and Disability, studying the ways in which our society makes sense of the artistic production and representation of people with disabilities, both now and throughout history. 

4:20-6:15: Break

6:30-9:00PM: Progressive Art Studios (PAS) Short Film Night: films by artists from Progressive Art Studios

Free and open to the General Public

Location: The Shepherd, 1265 Parkview St, Detroit, MI 48214

A selection of short films from artists at Progressive Art Studios (PAS) from across the country and beyond. *

 Videos curated by Paige Wery of Tierra del Sol Gallery and Thought Projects for the Los Angeles Public Library

[Food and beverages will be available for purchase]

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Location: The Shepherd, 1265 Parkview St, Detroit, MI 48214

9:00-9:10AM: Opening Remarks 

9:10-10:00AM: Atelier Herenplaats  - A European PAS Model,

Presenter: Anna Berkhout, Atelier Herenplaats, Rotterdam, NL

Staff member from Atelier Herenplaats Anna Berkhout will present on this European progressive art studio, and on the larger context of progressive art studios within a European context. https://www.herenplaats.nl/

10:00-11:00AM: Alternate (Economic) Studio Models,

Presenters: Dr. Mitra Reyhani Ghadim, Director, The Living Museum, NY; Patty Mitchell, Executive Director and Founder, Passion Works, OH. Moderator: Carrie Marcotte, Founding Director, Starlight Studios, NY 

Several studios with alternative funding strategies will present on their programs and economic structures, followed by a panel discussion. 

11:00-11:15AM: Break

11:15-12:30: Death and Mourning in the Studio

Presenters: Amy Sharp, Director, Community Access, NY; Denny Fisher, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Arts of Life, IL; and Stephanie Schmidt-Ellis, Clinical/Senior Program Director, Gateway Arts, MA

This panel with Amy Sharp of Community Access, Denny Fisher of Arts of Life, and Stephanie Schmidt-Ellis (for Greg L.) of Gateway Arts will address how studios address death and mourning, specifically when a studio member passes away. What rituals do studios use to provide member artists and staff a space to mourn? This presentation will be structured as an informal conversation encouraging audience input.   

12:30-12:45: Walk or va to the Lantern Building

12:45-2:30: Lunch and Visit PASC 

[food will be provided]

Visit PASC - Tour of PASC studio/gallery by artists

Meet PASC artists and view current PASC exhibition with Herenplaats    

2:30-6:30PM: Break - suggested tours around Detroit (List will be provided)

6:00-7:30PM: ActionSpace, Nnena Kalu and The Turner Prize: A Conversation

Presenters:  Charlotte Hollinshead, Head of Artist Development, ActionSpace, ENG, and Tom Di Maria, Founder and Director, Arts Access for All, CA

Location: Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, 4743 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 

This lecture will cover the History of Action Space, London, working with artist Nnena Kalu, The Turner Prize and Beyond, plus the state of artists with disabilities in the UK.

Free External Lecture as part of the conference open to the General Public. 

Eventbrite to ActionSpace, Nnena Kalu and The Turner Prize: A Conversation

*All conference attendees will be automatically RSVPed for this lecture

Thursday, October, 8, 2026

Location: University of Michigan, Palmer Commons, 100 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor MI 48109-2218

9:00AM: Bus Departs Hotel/Meeting Point to U of M 

10:00-10:30AM: Artist Success Story Videos

A series of short presentations featuring several artists reflecting on a project, a body of work, or their artistic career in relation to the progressive studio. Through personal stories and conversation, artists will discuss how the studio has supported their creative development, professional opportunities, and artistic practice, while highlighting the role of fashion, style, and self-expression in their work.

10:30-11:15AM: Weaving Relations: Disability, Care, and the Art of Being-With,

Presenter: Amanda Cachia, Professor, Arizona State University, AZ

This presentation by Amanda Cachia examines how contemporary disability art enacts the philosophical concept of “being-with”. Rather than treating disability as an identity category, it is approached as a methodological lens through which art history can be reframed around relationality, interdependence, and shared embodiment. This presentation will be focusing on the 2026 exhibition “Weave In, Weave Out”, held at Positive Exposure Gallery.
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11:15-11:30AM: break

11:30-12:30PM: Disability in Academia: U of M, Legacy and The Future

Presenters: Cléa Massiani, PHD Candidate, University of Maryland, MD

Beginning with the landmark 1995 "This/Ability" conference held at U of M, participants will reflect on Michigan's influence in shaping disability aesthetics, Crip Theory, and interdisciplinary approaches to the arts. Looking ahead, the discussion will consider the future of the field, including the need to more fully integrate the histories, experiences, and artistic practices of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities into disability studies and contemporary cultural discourse.

12:30-1:30PM: Lunch

[food will be provided]

1:30-2:30PM: U of M Institute for the Humanities Presentation

Presenters: Jason Young, Director, Institute for the Humanities, University of Michigan, MI; and Amanda Krugliak, Arts Curator, Institute for the Humanities, University of Michigan, MI

[Presentation Description forthcoming] 

2:30-3:00PM: Groundwork: Guidelines for Partnering with Artists with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Presenter: Alisa Polischuk, Exhibitions Coordinator, Creativity Explored, CA

This presentation by Alisa Polischuk of Arizona State University will give an overview of current research by Alisa Polischuk to create a resource guide “Groundwork,” which establishes practical recommendations and tools for partnering with artists with IDD in the exhibition planning process. 

3:00-3:30PM: Curation is a Party! The Fountain House Gallery Artist-Curator Role and its Impact on our Artists

Presenters: Mary McKevitt, Gallery Director, Fountain House Gallery, NY; and Judith Berman, Artist, Fountain House Gallery, NY

This presentation by Mary McKevitt and Judith Berman focuses on Fountain House Gallery’s unique curation process, where shows are conceived of, voted on, and curated by their own artists. This reflects their broader organizational value of including their service community in all major decision-making. 

3:30-4:15PM: Sexuality, Queerness, and Gender in Progressive Studios: stories and strategies for safely supporting artists

Presenters: Hop Peternell, Studio Director and Co-Founder, Studio Route 29, NJ; Robyn Winkler, Executive Director, Visionaries and Voices, Cincinnati, OH; and Tim Ortiz, Program Director, Arts of Life, Chicago, IL.

This panel discusses experiences, challenges, and practical strategies related to sex and gender for fostering safe, affirming, and inclusive studio environments for artists. Through stories from the field and open dialogue, it explores education, advocacy, and care practices that empower artists while respecting autonomy, dignity, and individual expression. 

4:15-4:30PM: Final statements and Gratitude

4:30-6:00PM: Exhibition Tour and opening reception at Institute for the Humanities

At 4:30-5:00PM: Fashion/Forward exhibit tour with curators

Curators: Amanda Krugliak, Arts Curator, Institute for the Humanities, University of Michigan, MI; and Paige Wery, Gallery Director, Tierra Del Sol, CA

Fashion/Forward is an invitational pop-up group exhibition in the Institute for the Humanities Osterman Common Room celebrating the innovative work of artists from progressive art studios around the country. Both including fashion and about fashion, the exhibition features drawings, paintings, sculptures, textiles, wearable clothing, accessories, and other fabulous fashion-inspired works. 

6:00PM: Bus leaves Ann Arbor for Detroit

Accommodations
There are a couple of options for accommodations, hotels and Airbnbs. We have reserved two hotel blocks during the conference. Accommodation codes will be available after purchasing tickets

Hotel Houze Detroit Downtown (up to 60 rooms available
305 Michigan Ave, Detroit, MI 48226
This is an extended stay hotel with kitchen.
hotelhouze.com
$159 per night, Studio bdrm King/Queen, 31 rooms available
$189 per night, 1 bdrm King/Queen, 21 rooms available;
$189 per night, 1bdrm King ADA accessible, 3 rooms available
$219 per night, 2 Bdrm Queen, 5 rooms available

Courtyard by Marriott Detroit Downtown (up to 20 rooms available)
333 East Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI 48226;
This is a standard hotel room
marriott.com/en-us/hotels/dtwdc-courtyard-detroit-downtown/overview/
$199 per night, King room, 12 rooms available;
$219.00 per night, 2 Queen beds per room;
+ Occupancy Tax: 16% (6% state sales tax, 10% occupancy/county/tourism)

There are also lots of great Airbnbs in the area close to the Shepherd (1265 Parkview Street, Detroit, MI 48214). We suggest searching in the Indian Village or West Village neighborhoods.

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Creating Community is an ongoing conference and programming series developed by Creative Growth that convenes in partnership with progressive art studios, universities, and cultural institutions in Oakland, CA and various locations. In addition to the annual gathering, Creative Growth periodically collaborates with partner institutions to present related Creating Community convenings, symposia, and public programs.

* A progressive art studio is an open, community-based art studio where artists with disabilities—often adults with developmental disabilities and/or mental health differences —create art in a professional setting. These studios offer space, professional art materials, support, and opportunities to help each artist develop their own creative practice. Unlike more traditional disability service programs that might focus on therapy or caregiving, progressive studios recognize participants as working professional artists. Staff may assist with everything from exhibition planning to career development to selling artwork, but creative decisions are always driven by the artists themselves. These studios are spaces of acceptance, autonomy, confidence building and radical care.