Annual Art Festival 2010 through 2019
The Arts Experience: Embracing the Spirit of Creativity & Inclusion The Arts Experience festival celebrating art, diversity and inclusion. Every spring from 2010 through 2019 Hobart and William Smith Colleges & the Collaborative of NY partnered to create a festival that offered people from all walks of life a platform for artistic expression and experience. Other community groups became part of the collaboration as the decade moved forward. The Covid-19 Pandemic signaled the end of Festival. In 2020, and again in 2021, the planned festival was cancelled due to the distancing restrictions of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The festival has been an opportunity for participants, including people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, the college community, associations in the region and beyond, and the general public to explore various creative means of expression through the arts in numerous workshops and performances. Upwards to 1000 people joined each year in this celebration of the creative expression of the individual & the community.
Online Art Festivals 2020 and 2021
Collaborative of NY Self-Advocates Team Since the end of a decade of HWS based Arts Festivals, the Self-Advocates Team of the Collaborative of NY created their own online art encounters. Starting first with an art gallery featuring the work of individuals associated with Collab member agencies, the team moved on to create an entirely live online week-long conference. By virtually tuning into the art studios of its member agencies, participants had the opportunity to participate in dance, music and studio art workshops. Visit the gallery to view some of the artwork from the conference and beyond.
