2021 GRANTEES

Creative Citizen Studios (CCS) is an arts and disability organization that works with adult artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities to make, exhibit, and sell their work. CCS weekly visual arts classes, workshops, and exhibit opportunities help promote CCS artists while connecting them to the Pittsburgh arts community. In the last 2 years, CCS saw a need for their artists to boost their creative careers and further their education on what it takes to be a professional in this field.

In the Fall of 2021, nine artists from CCS began a partnership with nine artists from the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh (AAP). Within this partnership, each artist of AAP was paired with an artist of CCS for mentoring and collaborative art making. Citizen artists are working closely with their mentor artist to learn what it takes to further their creative career. Each artist mentor from AAP took part in an accessibility training with Creative Citizen Studios prior to beginning their projects. These "Dynamic Duos" will be partnering through the end of November and will display their collaborative pieces at IceHouse Studios in January of 2022.

The public opening reception at IceHouse Studios will take place the evening of Friday, January 8th. The show will present collaborative works of 8 artist pairs: Matthew Carroll and Zach Brown, Daijah Massie and John Burt Sanders, Jami Johnson and Haylee Ebersole, Jacob Schmitt and Brent Nakamoto, Faron Thompson and Lizzee Solomon, Mick Fisher and Lauren Braun, Robyn McKee and Linda Price-Sneddon, Julia Fieldhammer and Curtis Reaves.

AE&E Fund is thrilled to support the overall accessibility of the Pittsburgh Arts landscape through this amazing partnership between Creative Citizen Studios and Associated Artists of Pittsburgh.

All photos courtesy of Creative Citizen Studios.