PASSAGEWAYS: HISTORIC TIMELINE

Passageways, is Sophie’s Gallery’s (the off-campus art program of St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center) annual art exhibition in celebration of National Disabilities Awareness Month. The show Passageways, invites artists with developmental disabilities to explore themes of independence and self-awareness by tapping into their creativity using a different theme and art medium each year. Artists are encouraged to write about their thoughts and feelings about independence as it relates to the process of making art. These stories are collected and reproduced into a show catalog. Past shows have featured doors, suitcases, window screens, director’s chairs, surfboards, found objects and monoprints as the canvas of self-determination. Passageways use of common objects transformed through painting, collage, decoupage and with the use of found objects inspires the viewer to not only see the objects themselves in a new light but also the artists who created them. After opening each year at Sophie’s Gallery, the Passageways show travels to other venues. These include the California Center for the Arts Escondido, the San Diego International Airport, the CAL Trans building, San Diego Regional Center, Bread & Cie, Torrey Pine High School, Jazzercise headquarters, the San Diego Art Department and El Cajon City Hall.

7th Annual / 2010 Passageways: I Am Me! / Self-portraits Monoprints – mosaics & time capsules

6th Annual / 2009 Passageways: The Road of Life / Found Object Folk Art inspired by Roland Knox from the collection of the House of Blues

5th Annual / 2008 Passageways: Catch the Wave / A Collection of hand decorated surfboards

4th Annual / 2007 Passageways: The Director’s Cut / Hand painted canvas director’s chairs inspired by favorite movies

3rd Annual / 2006 Passageways: Open Windows / A collection of hand painted screen doors and window inspired by the historic tradition of the Baltimore Screen Painters

2nd Annual / 2005 Passageways: Life’s Journey / A collection of suitcases, travel bags and vanity cases asking where would you travel to if you could go anywhere in the world

1st Annual / 2004 Passageways: Open Doors / The first annual show in conjunction with National Disabilities Awareness Month featuring a collection doors hand-painted, collaged, and adorned with found-objects.