OPEN DOOR GALLERY @ WAM
Located inside the worcester art museum
Designed as a partnership between Worcester Art Museum, Seven Hills Foundation, and Open Door Arts,
ODG@WAM is a working studio and gallery that exhibits and celebrates the work of aspiring, emerging and established artists with disabilities, acting as a catalyst for community convening and conversation with the museum and beyond.
CURRENT EXHIBIT
Megan Bent: “I Don’t Want to Paint a Silver Lining Around it”
On view: February 15 – May 15, 2023
Events on May 4th
Sun print workshop: 10:30 – 11:30 am
Opening Reception: 11:30 – 12:30 pm
Click here to register!
From the Artist
In March of 2020, my fear of catching the Coronavirus became palpable. “Don’t worry,” an acquaintance assured me “only the sick and elderly will die.” I am chronically ill and immunocompromised. I Don’t Want To Paint A Silver Lining Around It is my personal reflection of being high risk in the pandemic. It is also my response to the outside world’s demand that disabled people be acceptable losses for personal convenience or for corporate profit.
Through chlorophyll printing, which uses UV light to print photographic images directly onto leaves, I connect disability and nature to undermine stereotypical representations of disability as tragic and reframe it as a valuable part of human diversity. The chlorophyll printing process (where one print/exposure may take anywhere from 8- 72 hours) relies on flexibility, interdependence with nature, and echos my experience of the disability concept of Crip Time; living in a body/mind that values slowing down, connection, and care over speed and production.
The fact that chlorophyll prints are impermanent, and will continue to decay over time, asks the viewer to confront the interdependence and bodily impermanence we all share.
“Quarantine Day 450 (The Ephemeral Gait of a Crip Walking)”
“Untitled (180,000 Lost And Counting)”
“Quarantine Day 280”
“Quarantine Day 7”
About the Open Door Gallery @WAM
Designed as both a working studio and gallery, Open Door Gallery @ Worcester Art Museum is a one-of-a-kind collaboration that supports the creation of new works and the sharing of artwork with the Greater Worcester arts community and beyond!
As a partnership between Open Door Arts, Seven Hills Foundation, and the Worcester Art Museum, Open Door Gallery @ Worcester Art Museum seeks to expand opportunities for meaningful experiences and connections through the arts for people of all abilities.
“Red Sky in Morning” by Jon Sarkin
LOCATION AND HOURS
The Open Door Gallery @ WAM is located in the Higgins Education Wing of the Worcester Art Museum, at:
55 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609
Hours:
The gallery is open during regular museum hours,
Wednesday – Sunday: 10 am-4 pm
Third Thursday of every month: 10 am-8 pm
ACCESS
The Open Door Gallery @ WAM is located in the Higgins Education Wing of the Worcester Art Museum. The gallery can be accessed through the Lancaster Street entrance of WAM (currently under renovations) or through the Tuckerman Street entrance.
The gallery is at the end of the first floor of the Higgins Wing. It can also be accessed directly through the Lancaster courtyard, where there is a ramp and switch-operated double doors.
ASL interpreters can be requested for events and exhibit openings. We care about your experience, so please contact for access-related questions.
We are proud to participate in the Card to Culture program, a collaboration between Mass Cultural Council and the Department of Transitional Assistance, Massachusetts Health Connector, and WIC Nutrition Program, by broadening accessibility to cultural programming.
Admissions to our Open Door Galleries and related events is free. EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders will receive free admission to any ticketed events. See the full list of participating organizations offering EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare discounts.