Thursday, January 22, 2026

Possible Worlds: 20 Years of the Wynn Newhouse Awards
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

This landmark exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of the Wynn Newhouse Award, a pioneering initiative that has recognized and elevated artists of excellence who happen to live with disabilities. Established in 2006 by Wynn Newhouse, the award has championed bold, boundary-defying voices in contemporary art — highlighting practices that are as varied in form as they are unified in vision: a vision of art as a space where representation, identity, and access are not peripheral concerns, but central to the discourse.

At the heart of the exhibition is a curatorial inquiry: How do artists with disabilities navigate the art world, and the world at large, on their terms? And how does that navigation inform their work, influence its reception, and expand the field of cultural production? The goal is not to position disability as a central or singular theme, but to acknowledge it as one of many intersecting conditions that inform artistic practice. In doing so, this exhibition prompts us to reconsider who gets seen, whose experiences shape the canon, and how institutions can create more equitable conditions for artistic participation and recognition.

Exhibiting artists include Beverly Baker, Derrick Alexis Coard, Courttney Cooper, Joseph Grigley, Em Kettner, Reverend Joyce McDonald, William Scott, Kambel Smith, Katz Tepper, Melvin Way, and Peter Williams.