Valued, an exhibition curated by Jessica and James Whalen. This exhibition will feature humanity's intrinsic need and birthright to create-whether for beauty, utility, storytelling, or the alchemic combination of all of the above.  

Art and creativity have been a part of humans since we began. We told stories, crafted images and sculptures, innovated, made music and made our homes beautiful. Some mediums got put into the “craft” category and others got elevated to “art”. That division created the culture of gatekept, “high value” art, and craft as domestic clutter whose accessibility has “lowered its value”. But now we’re looking at a new era. Open source or low cost AI and public spaces offering 3D printers are allowing art to be more accessible, and the evidence of human touch is now being seen as the soul, the thing “the computers can’t take away”. 

The value gap is closing in our culture, but those of us creating? Those of us putting our souls into every brush stroke, key stroke, music note and stitch? We've always known: our existence is being witnessed through what we make, and you can’t put a price on that. 

Artists: Allyssa Dezaldivar, Bridget Starnes, Buck Hadlock, Canaan Farmer, Chad Gurley, Denzel Washington, G Desiree Petersen-Fultz, Gagne Tucker, Heidee Alsdorf, Jackie Molinero, Jenny Dowd, Joshua Spencer, Kimberly Ly, Randi Sparks, Riley McGill, Steve Adair