Overview
Arts In & Arts Out
In this core program, CATA participants attend workshops led by CATA faculty artists skilled in the visual and performing arts. Visual arts workshops include drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, and set and costume design. Performing arts workshops include singing, drumming, dancing, juggling, and acting. Other workshops include poetry and yoga.
The Art Cart
CATA faculty artist JoAnne Spies and a CATA participant share songs and stories, as well as a colorful mobile lending library of framed artwork with residents of Berkshire Health Systems nursing homes.
A.R.T. Workshops
Artistic Realization Technologies is a unique method that provides people with severe physical disabilities the opportunity to paint with the assistance of laser pointers, trained trackers acting as the hands of the artist, employing a sophisticated series of yes/no questions designed to give the artist complete precision and control.
CATA Art on Tour
CATA’s visual art has been exhibited at business, cultural, and community sites throughout Berkshire County and beyond, i.e. Norman Rockwell Museum, Ferrin Gallery, and VSA Boston. CATA’s five performing arts companies – The Moving Company, The Serenaders, Shakespeare’s Players, The Juggling Connection, and Tap Murmurs – are comprised of CATA participants and often include community members as guest performers.
CATAtransitions
A collaboration with area schools to provide teenagers and young adults with disabilities with the skills, motivation, and support necessary to access artistic and cultural resources in their communities, including CATA workshops.
CATAdirect Crafts Cooperative
Each week, a group of adults with disabilities collaborate with community volunteers to create beautiful, eco-friendly products out of mostly recycled materials. Sales of these products provide income in the form of commissions to the participants, help fund the program, and tell CATA’s story wherever they are sold. Visit the CATAdirect Store.
Special Events
CATA’s annual events include a gala and community performance at Shakespeare & Company’s Founders’ Theatre and “I Am A Part of Art,” an art show and poetry reading. In addition to year-round programs, CATA holds special events that raise public awareness of CATA’s work, including The Sprout Touring Film Festival, featuring films by and about people with developmental disabilities, art exhibitions, and informal performances. Below is an excerpt from CATA’s 2010 Annual Gala & Performance, “Sticks & Stones,” on May 1, 2010 at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA.
