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By. Lauren Burr, Executive Director Barrier-Free had its first-ever Art Gallery on September 10th & 11th! Since The Studio opened, participants have worked tirelessly on canvas paintings, sketches, origami, poetry, clay sculpting, and more. After being selected to be featured in Make Studio’s Art Gallery in Baltimore, Barrier-Free had the inspiration to do the same—giving half the proceeds to the artists and half to Barrier-Free as a fundraising effort  A total of 22 participants from our Life Skills & Social Studio created pieces to sell at The Art Gallery. Every artist sold at least two pieces of their work! One artist sold over 44 pieces of origami! Other artists sold art depicting their favorite cartoons and landscapes, while some sold poetry and clay creations.   Every element of The Art Gallery was operated by our artists! We made frozen Oreo treats and mocktails which involved a lot of preparation—a wonderful life skill component when event planning! We also did “Gallery Rehearsals” where we practiced where/how each person would be stationed at The Art Gallery. This helped us ease any anxieties and pressures about public speaking or where to put our bodies in a space once guests arrive. The stations were made in rotations. There were greeters, check-out attendants, servers, and “minglers”. This ensured everyone had a role and each role worked on a certain task—like public speaking and social greetings, money management, or back and forth conversations. Apart from the artists’ families, The Art Gallery pulled in over 80+ community members. In total, our neurodiverse artists sold over $2,000 worth of art and merchandise! A neurodiverse, artist, is an artist who thinks, behaves, and learns differently than what is “typical” in society. Neurodiversity encompasses a variety of neurological differences that stray away from neurotypical standards. We were grateful to welcome Mayor Stacy Link of Sykesville, Dana Alonzi (Downtown Sykesville Connection Board President), and Julie Della-Maria (Downtown Sykesville Connection Executive Director). We appreciate the continued support from leaders in our town! A big thank you to friends at Anchor Counseling Centers for being such supportive Downtown Sykesville neighbors and attending our gallery. Also to Jim James from Barnesville School of Arts & Sciences for stopping by and showing your support. Finally, to our wonderful friends from Target Community & Educational Services, Inc. for bringing such joyful energy!  From left to right: Emma, Lauren (Barrier-Free's Executive Director), Alexander, Mayor Stacy Link, Rosemary  Front row left to right: Jim James (Assistant Head Barnesville School), Rosemary, Jenny, Lauren. Back row left to right: Geoffrey, Mike, Emily  Friends from Target Community with Barrier-Free"er" Jenny (front row in pink shirt) After all the sales were recorded and calculated it was time for... PAYDAY! Our artists were thrilled to receive their well-deserved earnings from their art sales. Check out those SMILES! 😊 Art sales were split 50% directly to the artist and 50% back to Barrier-Free to support our Studio and programming. Our first Art Gallery was a roaring success! Everyone was in high spirits and our artists owned the night! All guests happily engaged with each artist and were impressed with how each person had a role to play!
We thank all of our family members, friends, and our community for their unwavering support!
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This post is inspired by Tiffany Hammond of fidgets.and.fries on Instagram. Tiffany writes in her Instagram post, "I don't talk about identifiers. Most you will get out of me is, I am autistic, but I ain't gonna flip my lid cause you say I 'have autism.' I don't like the way the argument is presented on both sides. I wish people were allowed to use both interchangeably in certain settings (such as articles) or with those who aren't quite sure how they refer to themselves (such as Aiden). I wish that deeper conversations about other important issues could happen and not be derailed because someone said 'with autism,' or 'Autistic.' I wish there were spaces in the community for those like my son he doesn't wanna be *just* 'autistic.' He doesn't want to wear autism like a skin. He wants people to see him beyond his diagnosis and for him and so many others have an autism doesn't take away the fact the autism is an integration of part of his being it simply means he wants to be more than just his autism. That he is more than his autism."  Tiffany, owner of @fidgets.and.fries on Instagram (photo used with permission) In the disability community and between care professionals, there's a divide on the language used to describe a person with a disability. There are two types of identities used to describe. One is called person first and the other is called identity first. Person first language sounds like "person with a disability," "woman with cerebral palsy," or "student with an intellectual disability." Person-first language uses the disability as a secondary identifier. Identity first language is the opposite of person first language. Identity first language sounds like "a disabled person," "autistic person," or "deaf person," Identity-first language puts the disability before the person. For me personally, I don't like identity-first language. I don't like the word "autistic." I have autism and it does affects every part of my life. "Autistic" gives me the wrong connotation about autism. Autism is a part of me, but it's not the only part. What I want to be called depends on where in my social circle a person falls. If you're a stranger, researcher, doctor, or person in the community, I'm only comfortable with person-first language. I find it offensive if they use identity-first language. If you're an acquaintance, friend, or family I don't mind if they use identity-first language, but I still prefer person-first language. When we are talking about individuals with a disability, there are certain words that should never be used. These include "handicap," "impaired," "wheelchair bound," "confined to a wheelchair," "suffers from," and "retarded." When we are discussing language around disability we have to remember every person will have different preferences on how the prefer to be addressed. Some may only want person-first, some identity-first, both, or neither one. As care professionals, we have to respect each individual's choice on how they like to be identified. Sources: |
 | Written by Emily WachterEmily Wachter is the owner and entrepreneur of Photography through Autism. She is a lifelong writer and photographer with a passion for disability rights, social justice, and psychology. She is a college student at Carroll Community College with dreams of being a social worker. In addition to autism, Emily has a plethora of other physical and mental conditions, which include: Attention Deficit Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, 3Q29 Deletion Syndrome, Non-classical Diamond Blackfan Anemia, and Deaf in my right ear. Emily has spoken on a number of disability panels on living with autism and experiences of bullying. She is involved with a number of disability groups in Maryland, including YoungLife Capernaum, Disability Express Group, and Special Olympics. In her free time, she likes spending time with family and friends, coloring, and shopping. |
"Our talented artists have worked tirelessly to bring this event to life," shares Lauren Burr, Barrier-Free's Executive Director.
"This is our first community event since The Studio opened in June of 2021. We look forward to sharing our art with everyone," adds Britt Burr, Barrier-Free's Creative Director.
"My favorite art is origami," shares Alexander Willis, a Barrier-Free Studio member. Alexander creates origami pieces by memory each day that he displays on the shelves at The Studio. He is excited to share his creations with the community.
"This is the first event where we've asked the parents to step aside and let us handle it. Our folks are thrilled to be able to show-off their newly polished life skills," shares Lauren Burr. The event is open house style and community members are invited to drop-by for as little or as long as they'd like.
Contact info@barrierfreemd.com with any questions.
Barrier-Free Life Skills & Social Studio
7520 Main St #103
Sykesville, MD 21784
Friday, September 10 - 6-8pm
Saturday, September 11 - 1-4pm
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Calling all Silly Songs fans!! 
"Snack Troll" 
and many other silly songs on Music Mike's new Youtube channel at:
Copyright © Barrier-Free 501(c)(3) All rights reserved.
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Website Design by Lauren Burr
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We are proud to be funded in part by a Community Arts Development Grant from the Carroll County Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council
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We are proud to be funded in part by an Awesome Foundation grant from the Hey Westminster project
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