Shannon Finnegan
Shannon Finnegan is an American multidisciplinary artist located in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Working primarily on increasing perceptions of accessibility, Finnegan's practice focuses on disability culture in inaccessible spaces. Finnegan is most known for their protest pieces such as art gallery benches criticizing lack of seating[1] and lounges for those who cannot access stairs.[2]
Background and identity
Shannon Finnegan has been disabled their whole life, but grew up feeling isolated from the disabled community.[3] They experience pain when walking and standing, and thus focus on their need to consistently rest.[4]
Finnegan graduated with a BA in Studio Art from Carleton College in 2011[5], and immediately began working at the Wassaic Project through 2014[6]
Their work has been exhibited in major cultural institutions internationally, including the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity [7], Friends of the High Line[8], the Tallinn Art Hall[9], Nook Gallery.[10], and the Wassaic Project[11] They have spoken about their work at the Brooklyn Museum[12], the School for Poetic Computation[13], The 8th Floor[14], and The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library.[15]
In 2018, Finnegan received a Wynn Newhouse Award.[16] and participated in Art Beyond Sight’s Art + Disability Residency[17] In 2019, Finnegan was an artist-in-residence at Eyebeam.[18] Their work has been written about in C Magazine[19], Art in America [20], Hyperallergeic, and the New York Times.[21]
Solo projects
- DUEL at the OUTLET Fine Art, Brooklyn, NY in 2013[22]
- SHOULD / CAN’T, at The Invisible Dog, Brooklyn, NY in 2014[23]
- The Worst at Carleton College, Northfield, MN in 2016[24]
- fashionablecanes dot com on Tête-à-Tête, tete-ahh-tete.net[25] in 2017
- Self-portrait at The Invisible Dog Art Center, Brooklyn, NY in 2017[26]
- Anti-Stairs Club Lounge at the Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY in 2017[27]
- Disability History PSA, Eastern Pole, Cincinnati, OH in 2018
- Alt-Text as Poetry, developed at Eyebeam, presented at Queens Museum, Pratt, BAMPFA, and others in 2019
- Anti-Stairs Club Lounge, Vessel at Hudson Yards, New York, NY in 2019[28]
- Lone Proponent of Wall-to-Wall Carpet, Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, Canada in 2020[29]
Group exhibitions
- She’s Crafty (in collaboration with Breanne Trammell) at The New Museum Store, New York, NY in 2012[30]
- Peaces on Earth, at Sardine, Brooklyn, NY in 2012[31]
- Everything is Index at The Invisible Dog, Brooklyn, NY in 2012[32]
- Homeward Found, at The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY in 2013[33]
- INK + IMAGE, OUTLET Fine Art in collaboration with The Center For Fiction, at Brooklyn, NY in 2013[34]
- Drawings Along Myrtle Ave, Organized by Pratt Institute, at Brooklyn, NY in 2014[35]
- All That & A Bag of Chips, at Dead Space, Brooklyn, NY in 2014
- BOGO, Davidson Contemporary, at New York, NY in 2015[36]
- Company, at A4 Contemporary Art Center, Chengdu, China in 2015[37]
- The Descent of Dust at Radiator Arts, New York, NY in 2016[38]
- Endless Biennial, at 20/20 Gallery, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY in 2016[39]
- Reflections on Failure, at Radiator Arts, Queens, NY in 2016[40]
- Sociometry Fair 2016, at The Smell, Los Angeles, CA in 2016[41]
- Wynn Newhouse Awards, at The Palitz Gallery, New York, NY in 2017
- Manifesto, at Nook Gallery, Oakland, CA in 2017[42]
- Locus: Art as a Disabled Space, at The 8th Floor, New York, NY in 2018
- Means of Egress, at Dedalus Foundation, Brooklyn, NY in 2018[43]
- Sign Project: Access and Accessibility Stories, at High Line, New York, NY in 2019[44]
- Disarming Language, at Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn, Estonia in 2019
- On Audio Description, in collaboration with Aislinn Thomas, at Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada in 2019[45]
- Talk Back, at Flux Factory, Queens, NY in 2019
- Crip Imponderabilia, at NYU Galletin, New York, NY in 2019
Awards
Residencies
- 2012 Resident, The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY[49]
- 2015 Fellow, Copy Shop Residency, Endless Editions, New York, NY[50]
- 2018 Recipient, Wynn Newhouse Award, New York, NY[51]
- 2018 Resident, Ace Hotel Artist Residency, Curated by Taeyoon Choi, New York, NY[52]
- 2018 Resident, Art + Disability Residency, Art Beyond Sight, New York, N[53]Y
- 2018 Fellow, WITH x SYPartners, New York, NY[54]
- 2019 Resident, at Eyebeam, New York, NY in 2019[55]
Further reading
- Meier, Allison. "Art Revitalizes an Old Mill: Photographs from the Wassaic Project". Hyperallegic. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Wassaic Project Summer Festival". Chronogram. Sparrow. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- Mallouk, Elyse. "On Laboring for Love". Art Practical. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Wassaic Project July Festival". Tricolor News. Lakeville Journal. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Vintage photo inspires Wassaic Project exhibit". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Advocating for inclusivity through art and conversation, with Shannon Finnegan & Sugandha Gupta". Apple Podcast Preview. Designing For Humanity. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "7 Queer Artists Who Are Breaking the Industry Standard". Out Magazine. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "c Issue 141". c mag. Retrieved 21 May 2020.</ref>
References
- "Museum Bench #2 // Shannon Finnegan". The Invisible Dog. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- Sara, Emily. "Fighting the Art World's Ableism". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan and Aimi Hamraie on Accessibility as a Shared Responsibility". Art in America. Art in America. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- Green, Cheryl. "Disability Visibility Podcast". Google Docs.
- "Shannon Finnegan '11 Talk". Carleton College. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan". Wassaic Project. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- https://www.banffcentre.ca/six-writers-respond-six-sculptures
- "Shannon Finnegan". High Line. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "Disarming Language: disability, communication, rupture". Tallinn Art Hall. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "Nook Gallery is with Shannon Finnegan and Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo". Facebook. Nook Gallery. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan". Wassaic Project. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "Town Hall: Art, Disability, Labor". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "POETIC COMPUTATION". School for Poetic Computation (SFPC). Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "Locus: Art as a Disabled Space, Art and Disability Residency Exhibition, Panel, and Reception". The 8th Floor. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "About the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library". Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. New York Public Library. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan". Wynn Newhouse Awards. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "Locus: Art as a Disabled Space, Art and Disability Residency Exhibition, Panel, and Reception". The 8th Floor. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "2019 Eyebeam Residents Announced". Eyebeam. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "c Issue 141". C mag. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan and Aimi Hamraie on Accessibility as a Shared Responsibility". Art in America. Art in America. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- Israel, Alex. "New York Art Galleries: What to See Right Now". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- "DUEL: Recent Work by Shannon Finnegan". Facebook. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Should / Can't // Shannon Finnegan". The Invisible Dog. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Bodies" (PDF). Carleton College. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "fashionablecanes dot com". Tete-a-tete. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Reinventing my Strangeness // Shannon Finnegan". The Invisible Dog. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan". Wassaic Project. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Fighting the Art World's Ableism". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan: Lone Proponent of Wall-to-Wall Carpet". Carleton University Art Gallery. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "She's Crafty". This Week in New York. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- Lutz, Jon. "Peaces on Earth". Sardines. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Events Archives". The Invisible Dog. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "2013 Summer Exhibition Homeward Found". Wassaic Project. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "INK+IMAGE". Facebook. Outlet. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Drawings Along Myrtle: October Exhibition". Mytle Avenue Brooklyn. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "BOGO". Davidson Gallery. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Company Art Project". A4 Contemporary Arts Center. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "events". Radiator Arts. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Endless Biennial 2016". Facebook. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Works: Reflections on Failure". Radiator Arts. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "The Smell – Out On The Streets". Sociometry. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "The Manifesto Show". Facebook. Nook Gallery. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Exhibitions". Wassaic Project. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "In/With Chelsea". High Line. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "A distinct aggregation / A dynamic equivalent / A generous ethic of invention: Six writers respond to six sculpturesnn Thomas, at Banff Centre". Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon J Finnegan". BRIC. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan". The Rema Hort Mann Foundatio. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "About Us". The Awesome Foundation. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan". Wassaic Project. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Copy Shop". Endless Editions. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan". Wynn Newhouse Awards. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Announcing Artists in Residence at Ace Hotel New York". Distributed Web of Care. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Art Beyond Sight: Artist Disability Institute". Dedalus. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "WITH". The Disabled List. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Shannon Finnegan". Eyebeam. Retrieved 21 May 2020.