Following on the initial presentation at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (June 13 - August 23, 1998), Mark Moore Gallery is pleased to present a selection of works from eight (8) participants in Creativity Explored.
These particular artists works were culled from the pages of eight individual issues of Whipper Snapper Nerd, a zine produced by Harrell Fletcher and Elizabeth Meyer (the liaison curators of the Yerba Buena exhibition). Each issue of Whipper Snapper Nerd has been devoted to the work of one of the artists, and includes reproductions of works and an interview.
Creativity Explored works with developmentally disabled individuals from the local Bay area; the creation of artwork is meant to enhance both self-esteem and self-reliance on the part of it’s students, and as evidenced by both the publication of Whipper Snapper Nerd and the exhibition at Yerba Buena, to highlight the unique artistic potential of this segment of the population, who work in a variety of mediums.
Staffed by artists and volunteers, Creativity Explored is a multi-media art center in the Mission District of San Francisco. Formed in 1983, it has expanded it’s enrollment to over 60 students who attend the workshop on a regular basis.
The eight artists included in the exhibition were born between 1944 and 1962.
Harrell Fletcher is a Bay Area artist who has a long-standing commitment to community-based public art projects, in addition to his involvement with Creativity Explored.
Fletcher has created site-specific installations at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Art Institute, New Langton Art Center, Richmond Art Center and Southern Exposure.
Elizabeth Meyer is a doctoral student in the Social and Cultural Studies Program in Education at UC Berkeley. With a background in art education, Meyer has worked with Artists’ Television Access and the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland.
Fletcher and Meyer began collaboration on Whipper Snapper Nerd in 1994, during their time volunteering at Creativity Explored. In addition to the zine , the two have produced several documentary videos both about, and with, the students at the facility.