Cas Priadka/The Mossy Log
This fall, the Portland-based nonprofit Elbow Room has come to the Lewis & Clark Hoffman Gallery. Elbow Room is an organization that provides artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities opportunities to create and exhibit their artwork. Since 2020, Elbow Room has been supplying its community with materials and mentorship previously inaccessible to them. “Dialtones!” is their new installation and has been on display in Hoffman since Nov. 3.
“Dialtones!” is part of the ongoing digital media project “Videotones,” which showcases audiovisual artwork. The main aspect of the exhibit is the Telbow Phone Booth, which features exclusively auditory creations. In an interview with The Mossy Log, Joel Stotesbury, one of the co-founders of Elbow Room, explained the thought process behind the Telbow exhibit.
“‘Videotones’ is a project that I started with a group of artists (from the) previous programs’ learning studio. We mainly focus on the creation of video and audio and music — all digitally,” Stotesbury said. “And so it felt natural to just get into the realm of audio.”
The booth can be accessed both in person and through a call-in system that allows the caller to listen to the different audio works. Emma Ganger-Spivak, another Elbow Room founder, described the variety of recorded media available through the booth’s menu.
“We have the first chapter of our radio drama, lots of music, ASMR,” Ganger-Spivak said. “We really hope that people will check back in future weeks, too, to see what we are adding.”
One of the many audio works is interactive, allowing the artist and the listener to connect on a more personal level.
“You can record a question, and you might get a response back from one of our artists the following week,” Stotesbury said.
The call-and-response menu option has allowed many artists to interact with the LC community more directly, which Ganger-Spivak explained has led to increased excitement among the group.
“It has been exciting for people in our community to be here and have interactions with and get to know college students. We really encourage folks to feel welcome to come back and meet our artists and see their work,” Ganger-Spivak said. “It is always exciting for our groups to be in different places … I think it is fun to be able to explore and connect with a different community than folks that already know about Elbow Room.”
Maggie Chen, one of the artists in Elbow Room, explained that community and friendship were her favorite aspects of the program.
“Working here makes me happy (because) I got to know some new friends,” Chen said.
Alongside the various audio works, several artists have created drawings, paintings and collages for the exhibition. Mohammed Omar, who wrote two songs and worked on the radio drama, also painted a visual piece depicting his home before moving to Portland.
“(This is) like my place … I used to live back in Somalia, and then I moved here,” Omar said.
For Stotesbury, working in the Hoffman Gallery and using the available recording equipment in Watzek library has inspired him to continue leading audiovisual projects such as “Dialtones!”.
“I know for me, personally, I am excited about exploring more audio-based projects with people … The recording booth has been nice because our space is pretty small and it can get very noisy,” he said. “It has been a treat to have that, and I feel like in the future, it would be amazing to have access to that.”
The Telbow Phone Booth and other artwork will be in Hoffman Gallery until Dec. 8. The exhibit is open in person every Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For 24/7 digital access, you can call into the booth at 724-835-2697.
About the Author
