On Wednesday, April 29, from 5-7 p.m., the 2026 artAbility Showcase will take place in the 1912 Center. Those interested can expect a night of community, refreshments and appreciation for art across mediums.
The artAbility workshops provide an opportunity for adults with disabilities in the Palouse to create and show off their pieces. This program, which is tied to the Idaho Center on Disabilities and Human Development as well as the Self-Advocates of Moscow, drew over two dozen participants this year. The workshops take place throughout the school year and involve both community members and University of Idaho students.
“We work with university students of any type to come in and be natural supports, which is basically someone who comes in and does the art alongside the participants, but also gets to help out and be there,” said Sofia Bronaugh, program coordinator and senior in secondary education.
“The artAbility project, part of it is our showcase, which is community-facing, to really celebrate the artists’ art. Throughout all the workshops, I collect all the art at the end, and we display it all for the community,” Bronaugh said. “The participants can sell their art [or] they can just put it up for display. We’ll have hors d’oeuvres and we’ll have a community-based art piece. It’s just a cool way to celebrate all the art that’s been created throughout this year.”
This year’s workshops were themed around “vintage or lost art,” according to Bronaugh. They worked with now-uncommon mediums and techniques, including sashiko— a particular form of Japanese embroidery—and papier mâché. They also drew inspiration from forms such as stained glass.
“Some of the art pieces are just the most beautiful things in the world, and things that you wouldn’t traditionally see. It’s very cool to be a part of that. People don’t realize that it’s so profound, how gorgeous the art is,” Bronaugh said.
This year’s workshops were led by community members such as Arlene Falcon, the owner of Tie Dye Everything. Those interested in working as student trainees for the artAbility program in the future can find applications on the Idaho CDHC website.
This will be the 12th annual showcase of the artAbility workshop pieces. Past years can be found at idahocdhd.org/Projects/artAbilityAll. The event is free to attend, and a digital version will be available on the same site at 4 p.m. on April 29 for those that cannot attend in person.
Cal Torres can be reached at [email protected]