Inclusivity • We are building a studio community, the wider community of Baltimore, and a world that is welcoming and respectful to all.
Community • We foster connections through which we share, learn, grow, and thrive together.
Self-Expression • We support everyone in our community in finding and expressing their own voice.
Self-Discovery • We seek to help everyone in our community understand themselves and where they want to go.
Fun • We relish in the joy that artistic expression, inclusion, and community bring to our lives.
Opportunity • We support our artists in marketing their work and earning income as artists, and building job and life skills that increase their options and earning potential.
Social Justice • We seek to actualize equal rights and access to opportunities for everyone.
Mutual Respect • We value each other and the diversity of our experiences and perspectives.
Fidelity • We seek to be true to our values and commitments.
Visibility • We work to expand our community, reach, and impact by marketing the work of our artists and organization, and the talents of and issues facing people with disabilities known to more people.

History

Make Studio started as a “field of dreams” concept first developed in 2009, incorporated and opened our first (one-room, windowless, 400 sq. ft.) studio in 2010, and received nonprofit designation in 2011. Make Studio was founded by three future staff members and member artist Jerry “Partyman” Williams, in the now defunct, trailblazing Load of Fun Studios in Baltimore’s Station North Arts District. Our cofounders are indebted to our incorporating Board of Directors, our families and friends, and Sherwin Mark (LOF) for providing the many forms of support needed to open “the studio”.

Make Studio’s founding mission was to provide multimodal arts programming to adults with disabilities in a supportive and inclusive environment. That mission was initially informed by the expressed needs of the many disabled and neurodiverse artists like Jerry (and other early artists Bess, Louis, & Tony), who were looking for adaptive workspaces and professional platforms for sharing and selling their artwork after aging out of special education. Our cofounding staff — arts & disability program veterans (Stefan & Jill) and art therapists (Cathy & Jill) were inspired by seminal progressive art studios, but motivated by a shared love of Baltimore and putting art and abilities to work in this City. In the ensuing years, Make Studio’s mission, vision, and model have evolved in the ensuing years to reflect the input of our growing artist collective and to meet the needs of our wider community.

After the closure of Load of Fun, Make Studio relocated briefly to the Woodberry neighborhood, prior to settling into our current home — the Deco Schwing Motors building — in 2015. In our approx. 5000 sq. ft. Schwing Arts Center, we operate our first floor gallery and our professional studio program for adults artists, offer programming for youth with disabilities, and put on inclusive arts activities for the general public year-round.