CORE: Defining Ourselves is a longstanding annual tradition of Able ARTS Work. Beginning in 2005, with the first ever CORE exhibition at the George V. Deneff Gallery in Long Beach, Able ARTS Work has built an art community that celebrates creatives not only across the nation but the globe. This annual juried exhibition has grown and evolved through the years to include artists of all abilities, exhibitions at venues across the Los Angeles area, and ADA components to create a fully accessible and inclusive showcase of the arts. As we look back on the past 16 years of CORE, it’s time to transform our traditional format with an exciting reinterpretation of this iconic exhibition.

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Participating community artists from the LA art scene were invited to create a collaborative body of work with our resident artists over the course of several months in 2019-2020. Disability influencer Lolo Spencer and AAW resident artist Brian Corder were invited to co-curate solo artwork by artists, further integrating the element of community collaboration into the curation process and the exhibition. This multi-dimensional community exhibition originally had been planned to open at Bergamot Station in May 2020. The world came to a screeching halt in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe forcing a total shut down. The future of CORE became uncertain; all plans were put on an indefinite hold.

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In early 2021, the exhibitions team began to piece the show back together little by little with hopes of sharing the original message of community and collaboration with a world in desperate need. Although everything seemingly stopped the past year, time had continued on - through the process of putting the show together changes arose. Changes in venue, in artist participation, in curation, and of artwork included. Although the journey involved some unexpected changes, the essence of this exhibition has not. CORE 2021 is the culmination of this journey. This exhibition explores the praxis of collaboration and community, highlighting the unique creative relationships built every day through the artistic process. As past CORE shows have established a passionate art scene inclusive of all abilities, we build upon that strong foundation to bring these revolutionary ideas to a broader audience. CORE 2021 aims to unify the larger LA art scene with a narrative on the power of community and the need for continued collaboration among our greater society. The relationships formed between all participating artists is as much a part of the exhibition as the physical artworks created from these collaborative explorations. This evolved exhibition redefines what it means to work together in the contemporary art world in the midst of a global pandemic and beyond. Able ARTS Work acknowledges and celebrates the process of artmaking and growing creatively as an arts community. We invite our audience to think about the connection between the practice of collaboration and how this translates into making our communities more inclusive, accessible, and unified.