Elbow Room is a licensed provider organization (a “Standard Model Agency”) providing opportunities for Adults (age 21+) with intellectual and developmental disabilities to develop expressive skills and creative outlets to hone a unique creative practice in a supportive and engaged community environment.

We work directly with Case Management Entities and to develop service agreements outlining creative goals, support strategies, and weekly or monthly hourly funding for individuals to participate at Elbow Room, our community partner sites, and our virtual art classes.

This page is for individuals, their family members, support staff, and case managers, and it aims to answer some frequently asked questions about Elbow Room’s programming.

How do I get involved with Elbow Room?

You can schedule a studio visit to meet staff and participating artists at Elbow Room. Send an email to contact@elbowroompdx.org to express interest in scheduling a studio visit. If you want, you can include some information or images about your artwork.

Elbow Room is intentionally a small, but lively program. Typically, we work with groups of 8-15 artists at a time, and our studio environments are social, community-oriented, and sometimes boisterous. Because we are small, we rarely have openings for new clients (but it does happen).

After coming in for a studio visit, we can mutually determine if it feels like a good idea to add your name to our waiting list. Unfortunately, there is usually some waiting involved before we have capacity to onboard new artists.

What is the program like?

Each weekday, we have daily programming at Elbow Room, and at our community partner sites. Programming is from 10 am - 3pm, and we take a lunch break at noon. Participating artists pack a cold lunch and all of the utensils needed to chow down at lunch time. Our 5 hour “DSA” day is highly art focused, and Elbow Room best supports individuals who really enjoy making art and developing a body of work to share with the wider art community. Participating artists have access to a wide range of art media, from paper and drawing materials to painting, collage materials, sewing, weaving, hand-tool-woodworking, digital media, musical instruments, and more! There is no out-of-pocket expense to participating artists to access studio space or art supplies.

Most participants come and go from Elbow Room and our community partner sites on the Trimet Lift bus. Case managers assist individuals with the application process to obtain a Lift pass. Elbow Room’s dedicated transportation coordinator is responsible for scheduling the rides for all participants. Others independently travel to Elbow Room on public transit, or with the assistance of home support staff.