About us
MOSA TEAM - Board of Directors
Together We Can Build MOSA!
The Museum of Special Art (MOSA) is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation developed to meet the current needs of children and adults with disabilities by providing access to the visual arts, educational opportunities, and career development for artists with disabilities. The Museum and its services will be open to all members of our community to provide inclusion opportunities and disability awareness in the areas of the visual arts so our community has opportunities to recognize and appreciate the talents of artists with disabilities. Specialized programming with a foundation in special education will bring dynamic and innovative educational programs and exhibits to support K-12 students and adults with disabilities located both domestically and internationally and will include a permanent collection of artwork from NW Special Artists of Washington State.
MOSA is operated by dedicated individuals who have experience working with individuals with disabilities and MOSA provides educational teaching opportunities for local active visual artists from our community. It further collaborates with our local universities to provide internships and mentorships to university students who are pursuing careers that include working with individuals with disabilities. In collaboration with Museums, corporations and other organizations, MOSA will bring forth the most unique exhibitions that are both heartfelt, inspirational, and educational by artists with disabilities that are beyond our imaginations.
ABOUT MOSA
HISTORICAL PRESERVATION OF ARTWORK CREATED BY ARTISTS WITH DISABILITIES
Accessibility in the area of the visual arts can be a challenging objective to achieve for these artists. Because of the physical and/or developmental challenges these artists face, it can be difficult to access the visual arts. Many have limited access to art programs, materials, adaptive equipment and may not have the advocacy skills needed to care for their artwork and submit their work for exhibitions. Consequently the historical preservation of the art work is not achieved and the work may never be exhibited and properly preserved. The artwork may further be mishandled, damaged, and discarded by others who do not know how to properly preserve the work. Now more than ever it is imperative that we preserve the historical value of this artwork created by artists with disabilities for future generations to come. MOSA is here to meet this challenge and provide support and mentorship to these artists in the area of preservation so the artwork is carefully cared for and stored appropriately to preserve the quality of the art pieces as noted in museum standards regarding the preservation, storage, and care of artwork.
THE ART ITSELF
MOSA will provide services to lesser known artists, emerging artists and recognized master disability artists. The museum will provide mentorship to these artists to assure their work is of high quality and is professionally framed, preserved, and adheres to the artistic standards that are used by professional artists and museums in the art industry.
The artwork itself is so profound and inspirational and comes from a unique viewpoint of artists with disabilities. Many of these artists who have developmental, physical disabilities or traumatic brain injuries who face day to day functional challenges rise above all odds to create the most beautiful masterpieces. Because of the limited access in the arts due to their disabilities, these pieces are rarely ever seen by the public. These masterpieces are created by disability artists who may use tubes on their hands to help them paint or paint with their mouths by manipulating a paint brush with their teeth or with adaptive equipment attached to their foot which can hold a brush. These are the art pieces created from artists who have cognitive deficits, neurological deficits, and communication deficits and from disability artists who have struggled with behavioral issues who have had a difficult time feeling like they have a place in our community. Many of these individuals with disabilities have extreme deficits that make it nearly impossible to access the arts without specialized programming or disability advocacy but yet somehow these beautiful pieces of artwork emerge from the very essence of their being and comes from the heart.
