Outside-the-Lines

MISSION STATEMENT

“I am an artist.” – Michelle Gilbert

The statement sounds commonplace.  However, for most people living under the label Mental Retardation it is a declaration of independence.  Labels deny people the opportunity to define their occupations, their interests, and even themselves.  Outside the Lines’ mission is to provide individuals labeled “mentally retarded” with the tools and materials to create art and the supports to define themselves as artists.  The studio and the artists themselves elude such labels and categorization.  Once situated in an east Cambridge industrial park, the location was perhaps a far cry from the more glamorous side of the Boston art world.  In just fours years, the space was transformed from an old costume warehouse into a working art studio and gallery.  Artists use common art materials in unconventional ways, often incorporating found items from the streets. Later moved from this Cambridge location, the studio is now housed in a bigger warehouse in Medford, where it has expanded to an even more diverse group of artists working in a variety of media including 2D, 3D, installation, and textiles.  The studio is proud to showcase its unique and fantastic array of work in art and music shows three to four times each year.