Open Door Gallery at the Worcester Art Museum will be holding a reception and artist talk on Thursday, Oct. 24 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. for the opening of its new exhibition, The (Dis)Comfort of Home, by Moriah Faith.

The exhibition features Faith’s large-scale abstract realist paintings that reflect her experience of living with an invisible illness. This is the first solo exhibition by Faith, who received the grand prize award from the Kennedy Center’s Emerging Young Artists with Disabilities competition in 2022.

“My paintings honor the small moments when my sick body was strong,” says Faith. “The canvas became my solace – a place to be brutally honest without sugarcoating my experiences for the comfort of others. By taking moments I wanted to be small and making them large, I have painted my invisible illness into striking visibility, celebrating the body despite its discomfort.”

The Open Door Gallery exhibits and celebrates the work of artists with a disability. Created as a collaborative project between Open Door Arts, an affiliate of Seven Hills Foundation, and the Worcester Art Museum, it is the only permanent gallery solely dedicated to promoting the work of artists with a disability within a museum setting in Massachusetts.

“One exhibit at a time, Open Door Gallery at the Worcester Art Museum seeks to expand our collective understanding of disability and to create a model for equitable and accessible cultural spaces,” says Open Door Arts Managing Director Nicole Agois.

The gallery is free and open to the public on Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is committed to being an accessible and inclusive environment and is located on the first level of the Higgins Education Wing of the Worcester Art Museum. ALS interpreters and sighted guide tours are available upon request for the opening reception.

The (Dis)Comfort of Home will be on display through December 10, 2024.