Community Access to the Arts

ANNUAL APPEAL

Dear Friends,

Imagine every human being noticed for their ABILITIES!

Community Access to the Arts (CATA) notices every day; nurturing and celebrating the creativity of people with disabilities through the arts.

Each year over 1,000 classes in the visual and performing arts encourage people to find their passion, express their true selves, and share their talents with the community. Their journeys tell the story of our success:

From David Gardner, an adult with Cerebral Palsy, painting his first brushstroke, to the exhibition of his artwork at the Princeton University Art Museum.

From Eric Schumann, an adult with developmental disabilities, suggesting CATA might offer a poetry class, to our annual poetry reading with guest readers like four time National Poetry Slam champion, Taylor Mali.

From a chance meeting with dancer Marisa Yudkin, a woman with Huntington’s Disease, to a performance of her work at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

The simple act of your support helps us to continue our definition-defying work, transcend disability, and invite genuine social change. We are all served by acknowledging the unique perspectives of people with disabilities and advocating for them in their creative process.

Your gift ensures we continue serving 600 people with disabilities in Berkshire County and helps underwrite our handicapped accessible studio, our wonderful staff, and provide employment for the 26 area artists who make up our faculty.

We thank you for supporting our mission to understand, respect, and honor differences and similarities.

With appreciation,

P.S. We really are all connected! Click here to see June 2006 CATA Artist in Residence, Gordon Sasaki's YouTube creation.