Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Williams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Heather, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

It was the Fall of 2009. I answered an ad in the Classifieds in my local paper looking for dance artists to perform in an upcoming presentation. On a hot July afternoon, with dance shoes in hand, I headed to the provided address to audition. As I got closer to the final destination, I was met with a sprawling hill with large homes on the left and sheep and chickens on the right. I continued up the hill to find a hidden campus, complete with a gorgeous arts center, home to Matheny. Matheny is an organization founded in 1946 that cares for and houses individuals with medically complex disabilities. It’s Arts Access Program, founded in 1993, was looking for professional artists to perform the work of the program’s choreographers.
It didn’t take me long to fall in love with the organization, its mission and the clients. I got hired for the gig, which turned into a part time job, then a full time position and now I serve as the Director of the program. It’s been 15 years of working with disabled artists and helping them to achieve their artistic dream. I have loved helping our artists find their creative voice, push them to their fullest potential and explore ways to dispel misunderstandings about what people with disabilities are capable of.
While my expertise is in the performing arts, it was the visual art program that put Arts Access on the map. Our artist work has been shown in small, intimate galleries in New York and New Jersey as well as the world famous Sotheby’s in New York City. Being part of those special moments has been life changing for me, knowing that I had the smallest part in helping an artist achieve artistic success.

Heather, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Life-size pieces of art, cutting-edge choreography, dramatic works, and imaginative writings have all been created by individuals with disabilities at Arts Access, a pioneering multi-disciplinary arts program established in November of 1993. The first of its kind, the model project has been the blueprint that allows disabled adults to make art on their own terms and laid the groundwork for other programs to follow.

The brainchild of former Matheny Medical Director, Dr. Gabor Barabas, and his wife, Suzanne, Arts Access started as a pilot program with a $35,000 grant from the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation. With its unique art development and communication systems, the pioneering experiment broke the mold of what had previously been done with art programs for people with disabilities. The Robert Schonhorn Arts Center, where the programs take place, was built in 2000.

Working outside of their perceived limitations, individuals with physical and cognitive developmental disabilities began painting works honed in the tradition of abstract expressionism, futurism, primitive expressionism, and more. Modern and ballet dances featuring wheelchair users and able-bodied dancers, imaginative creative writings, and amusing and dramatic stage plays soon followed.

Moved by what they saw, the community offered positive and encouraging responses during the program’s early years. Those accolades continue today. Since Arts Access’ inception, clients have sold many pieces of art and performed their works in front of thousands of patrons, family members, and friends.

Over time, it had become evident that the Arts Access program is filling a void. Several of the clients’ artwork have been exhibited in galleries at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, Bristol-Myers Squibb, ABC World Headquarters, the Newark Museum, and Sotheby’s NYC. Performances have been held at the NJ State Museum. Arts Access has also been featured in a number of media outlets including CBS Evening News.

Matheny’s Arts Access Program empowers individuals with disabilities to create art without boundaries. Through the use of innovative systems and techniques, clients can take part in the visual, performing, and literary arts. Regardless of their disability, clients are provided with the tools and materials needed to produce complete pieces of work.

On a daily basis, Arts Access fosters an environment of artistic creativity among the participating clients. The program improves the quality of life for the clients and those around them. In addition, Arts Access programming aids in changing the perception about the capabilities and talents of people with developmental disabilities.

Our program is based on four governing principles: Freedom of Choice, Artists Assisting Artists, Neutrality, and No Preconceptions. Each of these principles is carefully adhered to by our facilitators to ensure that the artist’s work is pure and created without influence.

While freedom of choice is often limited in other areas of their lives, it is encouraged at Arts Access. Clients choose everything from the paint color and brush stroke, to dance movement and theatrical staging, to each written word. Our program makes this possible by bringing clients together with professional artist facilitators. The facilitators are working professionals in their area of expertise who have been trained to be the arms and legs of the disabled clients. They consciously maintain a sense of neutrality throughout the creative process, which demands a constant trust and respect between the two artists. The facilitator must never have preconceptions or assume what the artist can or cannot do. The facilitator role provides a process for the artists to create works that are purely their own and utilize fine art as a means of self-expression.

Arts Access uses carefully designed and clearly-defined charts and menu systems to help establish all aspects of communication between the facilitator and the client.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

For Arts Access, the mission to provide individuals with disabilities the freedom to create in the visual, literary, and performing arts.

The Arts Access Program at Matheny is designed to inspire, uplift, and encourage the aspirations of artists with disabilities. In an effort to provide access to the same disciplines available to non-disabled artists, Arts Access offers courses in all of the visual, literary, and performing arts. Using our state-of-the-art methodologies, Arts Access has enabled our clients to create pieces of work that are distinctly their own and have been showcased in some of the most prestigious artistic venues.

Our mission is driven by proving excellent opportunities for disabled artists to grow creatively and thrive as a working artist, but we also use the art as a vehicle to promote inclusivity, awareness and empathy for what people with disabilities are capable of.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

For most, in 2020 the world shut down, including our program. But knowing our clients, we knew that we had to find a way to help them to create during a harrowing time. In person was not an option, especially given their medically fragile status, but remote sessions became a game changer for us. Our staff of artistic professionals found ways to create basement dance studios in their homes and remote painting and creative writing stations. Not only did we find a way to continue programming, but post Covid also gave more options for new, disabled artists to participate when transportation to our facility was not an option.
During that time, we stayed connected, we stayed creative and we helped our artists cope with an intensely difficult time period through the arts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artsaccessprogram.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mathenyartsaccess/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathenyartsaccess
• Twitter: https://x.com/mathenyarts
• Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user39442302

Image Credits

Arts Access Program at Matheny