One the area’s most unusual art galleries may also be the least visible.
Indigo Wings, a gallery in the back of a building on Monona Drive, provides opportunities for artists who have disabilities. It’s a very personal project for its CEO and founder, Kathleen Johnson. “We had this dream of building a community of artists, and they could share each other’s stories and learn from each other,” says Johnson.
The gallery had a long gestation period. Johnson and her husband, Dan, who is quadriplegic, married in 1983. The couple eventually adopted six foster children, all of whom have disabilities. Along the way, Johnson began thinking about ways to help creative people with disabilities become more independent. After attending three funerals in three months, she felt
Whitney Johnson, adopted daughter of gallery owner Kathleen Johnson, exhibits “Drowning Beauty.”
compelled to act: “I thought, ‘What am I waiting for? If I don’t start this thing now, it’s not going to happen.’”
In addition to selling art, the gallery also provides studio space for some of the 19 represented artists. Digital art, photography, paintings, sculpture and jewelry are featured. “Our oldest artist makes birdhouses,” says Johnson. Artists receive 70% of the income from sales.
Because it’s volunteer-run, the business doesn’t have much overhead, says Johnson. And she has plenty of art to display. But Johnson says it’s nevertheless a struggle to keep the doors open. “People don’t know where we are,” she says. She says she wishes the gallery had more visibility, because people who discover Indigo Wings love it. “People go, ‘Oh, my God! I live in this neighborhood. How long have you been here?’”
The gallery is named for so-called “indigo children,” sometimes called “star children.” The terms gained currency during the New Age movement of the 1970s and ’80s. It refers to children who have unusual artistic and even psychic gifts, despite various disabilities.
“I am a hippie,” says Johnson, laughing. “I’ve always thought of my kids not as having disabilities, but as having different abilities.”
Indigo Wings gallery is located at 4601 Monona Drive, suite 102. For more information visit indigowingsinc.com.
