The Mail Art Club at Creativity Explored (SF)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

April 8 – June 11, 2022; Drop-in Press & Donor Preview Thursday, April 7 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm

At the beginning of the pandemic when in-person programs were on hiatus, developmentally disabled artists at Creativity Explored began to exchange handmade postcards via the U.S. mail to stay connected. Over the past two years, CE artists, teaching artists, staff and volunteers created and mailed hundreds of postcard-sized artworks to one another.

On view at Creativity Explored April 8 through June 11, The Mail Art Club exhibition showcases dozens of original drawings, collaborative multimedia collages, and text-based work mailed and exchanged between participants of the ongoing class.

Co-curated by teaching artist Michael Napper and board member Cheryl Ward with assistance from Judith LaRosa and volunteer Sylvie Carnot, the exhibition focused on artworks by a core group of artists: Ada Chow, Joseph “JD” Green, James Nielsen, Joseph Omolayole, Yukari Sakura, Amani Swalim, and Miyuki Tsurukawa.

Many artworks feature collaborations that took place over weeks or months, traveling from mailbox to mailbox with new art and stamps added by each recipient. The installation also highlights the diversity of media and personalized exchanges of these one-of-a-kind pandemic artifacts.

Public Call for Mail Art
To celebrate the exhibition Ce is calling for the public to send original postcard-sized mail art to the gallery. Artworks received will be presented in the gallery window display, shared with CE artists, and posted on CE’s Instagram and Facebook pages.

“The genesis of the Mail Art Club was to simply send handmade, blank books to certain artists, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope. I included a note wishing them well, asking if they needed art supplies, and encouraging them to use the enclosed booklet for drawing or painting and send it back to me.

The response surprised me. My mailbox soon was full of wonderful art – some abstract, some with everyday drawings, some with stories of that artist’s day to day life.”
– Michael Napper

Presented by Creativity Explored

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.