ARTIST STATEMENT
I believe that access is a human right.
As it exists now, the world is built with and around barriers to accessibility. The Institution of Art is not independent from these barriers.
I believe in the varied experiences of the disabled community.
There is not one look or accomodation that allows an onlooker to determine someone’s lived experience. Everyone is an expert of their own body and needs.
I believe ableism is a systematic problem that often is not addressed.
Our current society is structured in such a way that those who are disabled are excluded architecturally, socially, economically, etc. Access is an intersectional issue. Ableism is an intersectional issue.
I believe that the Institution of Art is rooted in and perpetuates ableism.
The expectation of folks to initiate their own accomodations assumes a world in which users with diverse abilities do not frequent those spaces. Marginalized communities should not have the burden of making spaces accessible or educating others.
Take action.
Normalize building the world for a diverse user. Raise awareness to the inequities built into the world around us. Speak up but not over the voices of the disenfranchised. Work on recognizing and addressing engrained ableism. Do better
ARTIST BIO
Aeron Metzger is a nonbinary, chronically ill, and disabled printmaker who completed their degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts at Maine College of Art in 2019. They grew up in Upstate New York and currently live in Portland, Maine. In their print practice, they primarily use etching, screen printing, and letterpress techniques. A variety of both traditional and nontraditional materials are integrated into their work. They make prints about chronic illness and disability and what it means to move through the world with one or both of these things. A core value that is consistently expressed in their installations is their institutional critique approach that prioritizes installing their work in the most accessible way possible. Their work focuses on redefining access, making the invisible visible, and raising the voices of the silenced.
CV
EDUCATION
(2015 - 2019) • Bachelor of Fine Arts / Maine College of Art / Portland, ME (printmaking major)
AWARDS
(2018) • MECA 2017/2018 Diane Nolan Endowed Scholar / Maine College of Art / Portland, ME
EXHIBITIONS
(2019) • Abstracts Matter / 311 Gallery / Raleigh, NC
(2018) • Flat File Show /Friedman Gallery at Maine College of Art / Portland, ME
• Merit Show / Maine College of Art / Portland, ME
(2017) • Merit Show / Maine College of Art / Portland, ME
(2016) • MECA: Through and Through / Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art /
Portland, ME (NEASC/NASAD Re-Accreditation Show)
RELATED EXPERIENCE
(2019) • Zine Fair / Artists at Work at Maine College of Art / Portland, ME
• All You Need Is Love / Artists at Work at Maine College of Art / Portland, ME (pop-up shop)
(2018) • MECA Holiday Sale / Maine College of Art / Portland, ME
• 1:1 Screen Printing Workshop / Portland, ME (teacher)
• Feed Your Soul Printmaking Studio Tech / Maine College of Art / Portland, ME
• LGBTQIA+ Zine Night / Artists at Work at Maine College of Art/ Portland, ME (co-organizer,
President of MECA’s Gender and Sexuality Diversity Club)
• Zine fair / Artists at Work at Maine College of Art / Portland, ME
(2017) • MECA Holiday Sale / Maine College of Art / Portland, ME
• Zine fair / Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art / Portland, ME