Outside the Box

25 years ago, Wendy Escott and Sue Byatt started an art studio to provide adults with disabilities with a place to express themselves once they leave school.

Named Studio ARTES, it quickly became a community brimming with creativity, joy and potential. 25 years later, Studio ARTES has grown to have a studio in Sydenham and Hornsby that currently supports over 250 Members with Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Life Skills programs. From its inception to today, Studio ARTES is built on, and places at the centre of everything it does, values of inclusion, equity, and respect. The studio is a place of acceptance and endless possibilities.

Outside the Box – 25 Years of Studio ARTES is a celebration of the wonderfully diverse, eclectic and vibrant world of Studio ARTES. Named after the studio’s very first exhibition that took place in 2003, Outside the Box – 25 Years of Studio ARTES invites the current members and staff of Studio ARTES to exhibit alongside each other. The resulting exhibition is a kaleidoscope of creative expression, emphasising and placing importance on each and every part of what makes this community special.

Image: Dylan Isted, Colourful Art, 2025, pencil and acrylic paint on board