Founded in 2020, Elbow Room is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community art studio and gallery dedicated to supporting artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. More than 30 participating artists visit Elbow Room’s SE Portland studio (and satellite community art programming) each week to develop their creative practice, experiment with new materials, cultivate their portfolio of finished artwork, and to build community through friendship and collaboration. Elbow Room provides art materials and mentorship in painting, drawing, creative writing, sewing, digital media/video, music, hand tool woodworking, ceramics, and many other forms of art making. Participating artists pay no out-of-pocket expenses for materials or studio access, and they have opportunities to show and sell their work through Elbow Room’s gallery and through Elbow Room’s efforts to network with other contemporary art spaces. 

Elbow Room and PICA have fostered an ongoing community partnership since 2022. Through weekly studio arts programs hosted by PICA, Elbow Room artists have access to PICA’s library of art books for inspiration and immersion into contemporary art, and can work with a wide range of artistic media in PICA’s Resource Room.