Becoming an Artist: Sharing as Creation

An Artist Talk for exhibiting artists at Starlight Studio, Buffalo, NY USA

How does the concept of being an artist get introduced? Making art is the beginning, and that alone defines someone as an artist. Yet supported studios also invite people into the role of exhibiting artist - where completion, presentation, and sharing become part of how one grows into that identity.

In my own work, one way this idea was introduced was by involving artists in the installation of their own work. Hanging a painting or placing a sculpture in a gallery space is a simple action, but for the person who made the work, it is also a statement: this is finished, this belongs here, and I am the one who made it.

Another way was through Presentstion Groups. These gatherings resembled traditional art school critiques, but they served a different purpose. Even for artists who were non-verbal, the act of presenting their work - whether through words, gestures, or simply presence - was understood as a valuable step. Sharing was not an afterthought but a continuation of making. Completion didn’t signal an end point; it was a bridge toward another goal.

An important part of these groups was drawing attention to the fact that presenting information is just as valuable as absorbing it. For many with cognitive disabilities, the odds of truly absorbing information increase exponentially when it is information they themselves have chosen to present. In that moment, they are not only expressing - they are also shaping how others receive them.

This distinction - between bringing information forward and taking it in - is central to becoming a better conversationalist. And for many artists I have worked with, the chance to lead the conversation was transformative. It created a space where they could guide, rather than be guided, in how they were understood.

In supported studios, then, the concept of “being an artist” is not introduced as a label but as a role one grows into through experience. Making, completing, presenting, and sharing - these are the actions that define the artist.