From the Margins to Mainstream: Contemporary Art and Disability

Join us for a talk by Tom di Maria, Emeritus Director of Creative Growth, a groundbreaking studio based in Oakland, California, that supports artists with disabilities.   

Reflecting on the organisation’s 50-year history and its commitment to elevating disability-led practices in the art world, di Maria will highlight the studio’s recent partnership with SFMOMA, marking a turning point for inclusion in contemporary art institutions. Following the lecture, di Maria will join Liz Nowell, Executive Director of Arts Project Australia, which also turns 50 in 2024, for an in-depth conversation. They will discuss the transformative impact of Creative Growth and Arts Project’s work, the growing recognition of disability-led arts, and the pressing need to reconsider representation, creativity, and access in contemporary art.   

This program is presented in partnership with Arts Project Australia as part of the exhibition symbiosis: the Northcote Penguins from 20 November – 8 December 2024, and coincides with Intimate Imaginaries, the first ever Australian museum exhibition of Arts Project Australia artists at TarraWarra Museum of Art from 30 November 2024 – 10 March 2025.

Speakers:

Tom di Maria  has served as Creative Growth Art Center’s Director since 2000. As Director, he has developed partnerships with museums, galleries and international design companies to help bring Creative Growth's artists with disabilities fully into the contemporary art world. He speaks around the world about the Center’s major artists and their relationship to both Outsider Art and contemporary culture.  Prior to this position, he served as Assistant Director of the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive, at UC Berkeley. Tom has also worked as the Executive Director of FRAMELINE, and as Director of Development and Marketing at the San Francisco Film Society. He holds a B.F.A. from Rochester Institute of Technology and a M.F.A. from Maryland Institute, College of Art, in film and photography. Tom is also an award-winning filmmaker, with short film awards from Sundance, Black Maria, Sinking Creek, National Educational Media, and New York Experimental film festivals. In 2019, he was awarded the Visionary Award by the American Folk Art Museum in New York. 

Liz  Nowell  is a curator, cultural leader and the Executive Director of Arts Project Australia, a pioneering visual arts organisation that supports artists with intellectual disabilities and champions their inclusion in contemporary art practice. Across her two-decade career, which spans both Australian and international contemporary art, Liz has led preeminent public galleries and cultural organisations including the Institute of Modern Art, Adelaide Contemporary Experimental, and the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia. Notable curatorial projects include Rainbow Serpent (Version): Daniel Boyd (IMA, Brisbane), Yhonnie Scarce: Missile Park (co-curator, IMA, Brisbane and Australia Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne), Making Art Work (IMA, Brisbane), Songs for a Room: Gerry Wedd (ACE, Adelaide), CREATURE: Marianna Simnett (co-curator, IMA, Brisbane and City Gallery Wellington), and Next Matriarch (co-curated with Kimberley Moulton, ACE, Adelaide and Koori Heritage Trust, Melbourne).  In 2023, she was an Australian Progress Fellow and a resident at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York. 

Access:

Buxton Contemporary is fully wheelchair accessible. Find detailed information about building access and available resources on our Visit page.