Name: Creative Connections: Teaching Artists with Disabilities - An artist panel discussion
Start: 2026-03-11T17:00:00-04:00
Location: Erie Art Museum

Creative Connections: Teaching Artists with Disabilities, an artist panel discussion on working with adults and children with disabilities.
The Barber Institute's Creative Connections art program connects adults and children with intellectual disabilities to a larger community of artists, art forms, and experiences. Join us for a panel discussion with artists who are teaching other artists with disabilities.
Artists will hear practical guidance on how to create inclusive, meaningful art experiences for both children and adults with disabilities, plus strategies for adapting materials, techniques, and communication styles.
Erie Arts and Culture works to ensure that the arts are accessible to ALL residents of Northwest Pennsylvania. We work with local organizations like the Barber National Institute, Erie’s Public Schools, and partners throughout our six-county service region to craft arts education programming that allows people of all ages and abilities to find their inner artist and explore new mediums and artistic disciplines. Our goal is to help every individual foster the creativity that is inside of them, and to explore, create, and experience all forms of art.
Panelists:
Ja'Leesa Williams, Sew Royalty
Steve Mik, muralist
Kristine Peterson, artist, educator, and art therapist
Ann Ellison, special education art teacher
Moderated by: Jim Hain, Erie Arts & Culture arts education manager

Date/Time: Wednesday, March 11, 6-7 p.m.
Location: Erie Art Museum, 20 East 5th Street, Erie
Free and open to the public.
Light refreshments will be served.

Visit the Erie Arts & Culture Gallery before the panel from 5-6 p.m. at 419 State, floor C2, to view Creative Connections: Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month exhibit featuring original works created by adults in Erie and Warren adult services and Elizabeth Lee Black School students.
Interested? Register HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccct4zb5zGBG0v3BC6nxy-ER9-g4H65d7t1Z1COX1E6AzrmA/viewform
Sponsored by Erie Arts & Culture, Warren Gives, Highmark, and donors to the Dr. Gertrude A. Barber Foundation. Special thanks to the Erie Art Museum for hosting us.