Teen Art Residency With GALS and Shannon Finnegan

The Girls Athletic Leadership School and artist Shannon Finnegan recently formed a teen-orientated residency with the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.

Finnegan’s work focuses on the culture surrounding disability and accessibility. The New York resident has worked on a project titled the Anti-Stairs Club Lounge. This exhibition was featured in the Wassaic Project.

The Anti-Stairs Club Lounge was crafted in Wassaic Project to address the accessibility of the Maxon Mill’s exhibition space. Finnegan’s work in the space utilizes the areas that are accessible to those who cannot or will not go upstairs. Her work cozies up the space with plants, reading material, and refreshments.

GALS Denver is a part of the DPS district. It is a tuition-free charter school. The school is focused on personalizing the learning of its students in order to arm them with the necessary skills for the post-secondary world. GALS specializes in athletics. By pairing physical activity with academics, their commitment to their students is to prepare a “distinct and diverse generation of learned and motivated women and men for innovative leadership in our developing global society.”

Taking place both at the GALS art room and at MCA Denver, the teen residency will go through February 24 through March 15. The residency will allow for both the practices of Finnegan’s work and that of the students participating. March 12 will hold a celebration for the work done by the team at MCA from 5 to 7 p.m.

“We are thrilled to be embarking on this new residency with Shannon and GALS. The program will allow MCA Denver to deepen our relationship with a longtime outreach partner school and highlight the work of an artist whose practice challenges conventional notions of accessibility, illuminates the complexity of disability culture, and engages directly in larger conversations relevant to Denver and the region,” said Nora Burnett Abrams, MCA Denver Mark G. Falcone director.