The Work Between Us: Creative Growth, Erica Tanov, and the Evolution of Design Partnerships

Join us at the Erica Tanov Atelier in Berkeley for an evening of conversation, collaboration, and art. This gathering brings together two East Bay design studios with over a decade of creative partnership between them, and with more ahead.

Creative Growth, an Oakland-based arts organization serving artists with developmental disabilities, has built thoughtful relationships with designers and brands such as Erica Tanov, 6397, Clare V. and Levi’s, partnering with Creative Growth artists to put their artwork – paintings, ceramics and textiles – into collections and homes beyond the traditional gallery setting. Their artists have shown at SFMOMA, the Brooklyn Museum, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the Venice Biennale, and Outsider Art Fair Paris and New York. The beloved Creative Growth ‘Beyond Trend’ runway show has grown into a full fashion program within the studio. This evening at the Atelier offers a chance to hear directly from the people who make these exhibitions, performances, and artist-led partnerships happen.

In addition to Erica Tanov, the panel conversation will include Creative Growth Executive Director Sunny A. Smith and Creative Growth Lead Facilitator and ‘Beyond Trend’ Coordinator Amy Keefer. This open panel will move through where these partnerships started, what they produced, and what is next.

Schedule:

5 PM — Doors Open. The Erica Tanov Atelier is activated with Creative Growth artwork on view and available for purchase. Light bites and refreshments will be served.

5:45 PM — Panel conversation, approximately 40 minutes, followed by audience Q&A.

6:25 PM — The Erica Tanov Atelier stays open for continued shopping and mingling

7 PM — Event ends

Panelists:

ERICA TANOV is the founder and director of her eponymous Berkeley-based lifestyle brand, which recently celebrated 35 years in business. Working with luxurious natural fabrics and strong commitment to craftsmanship, Tanov’s collections—clothing, bedding, architectural tiles, wallpaper, furniture, and vintage finds—are available at her Berkeley Atelier. @ericatanov

SUNNY A. SMITH is an artist, educator, and administrator whose work spans studio practice, academic leadership, and community-building across the arts. As former Dean of Fine Arts at California College of the Arts, they led 16 programs across contemporary art, craft, and digital media. Smith has taught sculpture, social practice, and contemporary art history across institutions including Columbia University, Parsons, NYU, and Carnegie Melon, and has 30 solo exhibitions with works held in museums collections worldwide. Their art practice explores queer transmasculine perspectives on identity, nationalism, and use of crafted objects to address intergenerational trauma. Smith holds a BFA from Parsons, a BA from Eugene Lang College, and an MFA from Yale University. @creativegrowth

AMY KEEFER, the ‘Beyond Trend’ Coordinator and Textiles Studio Lead of Creative Growth, explores the intersection of art and apparel, viewing clothing as an extension of oneself and a medium through which personal histories and allegiances are revealed. She holds an MFA from California College of the Arts. An advocate for wearable art in all forms, Keefer joined Creative Growth, a pioneering non-profit organization dedicated to supporting artists with developmental disabilities, in 2016. Since then, Creative Growth’s annual runway show has expanded into a generative fashion department within the studio, partnering with important artists, brands and designers across the country. Founded in 1974 in Oakland, California by Elias Katz and Florence Ludins-Katz, the organization was established with a mission to utilize art as a primary means for individuals with disabilities to express themselves  within a safe and nurturing community and gain professional gallery exposure. Creative Growth operates as both studio and gallery that not only showcases the works of its 140+ artists but actively promotes their inclusion into major collections and institutions globally, such as MoMA, the Smithsonian and the recent historic acquisition by SFMoMA. Sales from the gallery directly fund artist support and studio operations, helping to sustain and expand this vibrant creative community. @creativegrowth

About Creative Growth

Founded in 1974 in Oakland by Elias Katz and Florence Ludins-Katz, Creative Growth is a pioneering nonprofits dedicated to supporting artists with developmental disabilities. Operating as both a studio and gallery, the organization represents 140+ artists whose work has entered the collections of MoMa, the Smithsonian, SFMOMA, and has been shown at the Venice Biennale, Outsider Art Fair Paris and New York, and VOLTA Basel. Sales from the gallery directly fund artist support and studio operations.  @creativegrowth