Open Door Gallery

Admission to the Open Door Gallery is always free.

The Open Door Gallery at the Worcester Art Museum (ODG@WAM) is a gallery space for artists with disabilities, created in partnership with Open Door Arts, an affiliate of the Seven Hills Foundation. This bright area, overlooking the Stoddard Garden Courtyard from the Higgins Education Wing, provides a platform for artists with disabilities to share their artistry, stories, and cultures, while creating a space for the community to come together through a common artistic experience that inspires reflection and dialogue. One exhibit at a time, ODG@WAM seeks to expand our collective understanding of disability and to create a model for equitable and accessible cultural spaces.

As part of this partnership, aspiring artists with disabilities also visit the Museum galleries, where they find inspiration and connect further with the ideas and images from over 50 centuries of creative expression and take classes with WAM faculty to continue to build their artistic skills. One of the most important priorities at the Worcester Art Museum, increasing accessibility for people with disabilities increases accessibility and understanding for everyone.

Current Exhibitions

Megan Bent: “I Don’t Want to Paint a Silver Lining Around It”

February 16 – May 15, 2023

ODG@WAM reopens after over two years with a display of artworks by Megan Bent. Through chlorophyll printing, which uses UV light to print photographic images directly onto leaves, Megan's work connects disability and nature to undermine stereotypical representations of disability as tragic and reframe it as a valuable part of human diversity.

Learn more with our resource list.