Tipping Point: Twelve
Years of Latitude Artist Community in Lexington
At University of
Kentucky (UK HealthCare)Curated by Phillip Jones
The Latitude Artist Community’s unwavering dedication to this community and the people it serves is best expressed in the words of Bruce Burris, one of the organization’s founders, “The lives for many of us with disabilities are unreasonably difficult, and there are few occasions to function as a fully realized human – with a creative life, a sexual life, a life of possibility,” he says. “The arts help in this capacity, allowing us to – at the very least – share intimate potential without negative consequences and with the possibility that sharing can lead to change.”
The
Latitude Artist Community is a radically unique organization with the fundamental
belief that the defining mark of a human being, that phenomenon which provides
both purpose and pleasure, is our inherent human need to contribute to our
community in a meaningful fashion. They believe that all people have this
aspiration and thus create vigorous and innovative supports from which those of
us who have traditionally been denied this civic opportunity and responsibility
are enabled to contribute to the community through their own inspired efforts. As
a community versus medical program, Latitude emphasizes two essential
platforms: a facilitated studio space and social advocacy projects. Each of
these activities creates and supports vigorous and innovative community outcomes.
The
Latitude Artist Community is now at a tipping point. For the past twelve years,
under the guidance of Bruce Burris and Crystal Bader, Latitude has provided
opportunities and supports that encourage people to create, explore and develop
their interests and abilities as art makers. Inherent to their mission is the
insistence that Latitude
Artist Community serves all people. The program does, however, place emphasis on
those thought by some to have a disability and aims to create meaningful,
inclusive community interactions which allow its participating artists to
contribute culturally and politically to the life of their community. In October of 2012,
the organization announced the sale of the business to a third party, as both
Crystal and Bruce enter new phases of their lives and careers. This exhibition
is not intended to memorialize the work previously done but rather to glance
back toward some of the artists, programs, and initiatives that have defined
Latitude over the past twelve years, acknowledging the program’s
accomplishments and looking forward to whatever the future may hold.
Over
the past twelve years, the Latitude Artist Community has occupied several
buildings but they have all been non-descript and rectangular, surrounded or
adjacent to a parking lot. The buildings’ interiors are sparse and furnished only
with paint-splattered folding tables and chairs. The immediate community
fluctuates but generally hovers around 30 members and a staff of three or four
people. It is open from 9-4 PM, Monday through Friday.
Latitude
has consistently found creative ways to address injustice and hardship,
responding with rallies, sculptural installations, workshops, and even gardens.
They have taken their programs into the streets of Lexington presenting works
and projects in government buildings, public libraries, and on busy street
corners. The members of Latitude’s community are considered to have a
disability by society-at-large, but that does not prevent them from being
engaged citizens or inspiring artists. Indeed, they are expected to be both.