Mission

To support people living with dis/abilities to pursue their calling as artists. For over a decade, Artists Without Barriers has challenged barriers to access through building community and relationships amongst people of diverse abilities.

Vision

Everyone has contributions to make – acts that nurture themselves and the community. Yet people with limited use of their bodies often lack the resources, opportunities, and relationships necessary to fully express themselves and make their contributions to society. AWB creates opportunities for self-expression through art.

Structure

Artists are involved in decision-making on each level of the organization, including providing individual feedback, participating in an advisory board, and serving as resident advisors to the directors of the organization. Artists also take on various community leadership roles according to their areas of interest.

Artists

Staff

HISTORY

Laser Eagles Arts Guild

Artists Without Barriers (AWB) first emerged from the dedicated work of those involved in the Laser Eagles Art Guild (founded in 2004). In 2014, members of the Laser Eagles Art Guild re-named the organization to better fulfill the mission and vision of the organization and mark a shift from a charity-based founder organizing model to a community-based collective decision-making model.

ORIGINS

Founders

The Laser Eagles Art Guild was co-founded by an extraordinary woman named Judith Snow, an internationally recognized advocate, lecturer, writer, organizer, and activist for the rights of those labelled with a disability to participate in a fully-inclusive society as citizens. Judith first envisioned a fully-inclusive space for art expression. Along with Franziska Trauttsmandorff, she began developing the idea and researching methods of enabling artists with limited speech and mobility to foster their own creative abilities and expression.

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