Finnegan Shannon Explained

Finnegan Shannon (formerly Shannon Finnegan) is an American multidisciplinary artist located in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Working primarily on increasing perceptions of accessibility, Finnegan's practice focuses on disability culture in inaccessible spaces. Finnegan is most known for their protest pieces such as art gallery benches criticizing lack of seating^[1] and lounges for those who cannot access stairs.^[2]

Background and identity

Finnegan Shannon has been disabled their whole life, but grew up feeling isolated from the disability community.^[3] They experience pain when walking and standing, and thus focus on their need to consistently rest.^[4]

Finnegan graduated with a BA in Studio Art from Carleton College in 2011,^[5] and immediately began working at the Wassaic Project through 2014^[6]

Their work has been exhibited in major cultural institutions internationally, including the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity,^[7] Friends of the High Line,^[8] the Tallinn Art Hall,^[9] Nook Gallery.,^[10] and the Wassaic Project^[11] They have spoken about their work at the Brooklyn Museum,^[12] the School for Poetic Computation,^[13] The 8th Floor,^[14] and The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library.^[15]

In 2018, Finnegan received a Wynn Newhouse Award.^[16] and participated in Art Beyond Sight's Art + Disability Residency^[17] In 2019, Finnegan was an artist-in-residence at Eyebeam.^[18] Their work has been written about in C Magazine,^[19] Art in America,^[20] Hyperallergic, and the New York Times.^[21]

Solo projects

• DUEL at the OUTLET Fine Art, Brooklyn, NY in 2013^[22]
• SHOULD / CAN'T, at The Invisible Dog, Brooklyn, NY in 2014^[23]
• The Worst at Carleton College, Northfield, MN in 2016^[24]
• fashionablecanes dot com on Tête-à-Tête, tete-ahh-tete.net^[25] in 2017
• Self-portrait at The Invisible Dog Art Center, Brooklyn, NY in 2017^[26]
• Anti-Stairs Club Lounge at the Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY in 2017^[27]
• Disability History PSA, Eastern Pole, Cincinnati, OH in 2018
• Alt-Text as Poetry, developed at Eyebeam, presented at Queens Museum, Pratt, BAMPFA, and others in 2019
• Anti-Stairs Club Lounge, Vessel at Hudson Yards, New York, NY in 2019^[28]
• Lone Proponent of Wall-to-Wall Carpet, Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, Canada in 2020^[29]

Group exhibitions

• Disrupt and Resist, Mason Exhibitions Center, Arlington, VA.^[30]
• She's Crafty (in collaboration with Breanne Trammell) at The New Museum Store, New York, NY in 2012^[31]
• Peaces on Earth, at Sardine, Brooklyn, NY in 2012^[32]
• Everything is Index at The Invisible Dog, Brooklyn, NY in 2012^[33]
• Homeward Found, at The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY in 2013^[34]
• INK + IMAGE, OUTLET Fine Art in collaboration with The Center For Fiction, at Brooklyn, NY in 2013^[35]
• Drawings Along Myrtle Ave, Organized by Pratt Institute, at Brooklyn, NY in 2014^[36]
• All That & A Bag of Chips, at Dead Space, Brooklyn, NY in 2014
• BOGO, Davidson Contemporary, at New York, NY in 2015^[37]
• Company, at A4 Contemporary Art Center, Chengdu, China in 2015^[38]
• The Descent of Dust at Radiator Arts, New York, NY in 2016^[39]
• Endless Biennial, at 20/20 Gallery, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY in 2016^[40]
• Reflections on Failure, at Radiator Arts, Queens, NY in 2016^[41]
• Sociometry Fair 2016, at The Smell, Los Angeles, CA in 2016^[42]
• Wynn Newhouse Awards, at The Palitz Gallery, New York, NY in 2017
• Manifesto, at Nook Gallery, Oakland, CA in 2017^[43]
• Locus: Art as a Disabled Space, at The 8th Floor, New York, NY in 2018
• Means of Egress, at Dedalus Foundation, Brooklyn, NY in 2018^[44]
• Sign Project: Access and Accessibility Stories, at High Line, New York, NY in 2019^[45]
• Disarming Language, at Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn, Estonia in 2019
• On Audio Description, in collaboration with Aislinn Thomas, at Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada in 2019^[46]
• Talk Back, at Flux Factory, Queens, NY in 2019
• Crip Imponderabilia, at NYU Galletin, New York, NY in 2019

Awards

• 2012 and 2013 Selected artist, Short list curated by Kris Nuzzi, BRIC Artist Registry, Brooklyn, NY^[47]
• 2014 Nominee, Rema Hort Mann Foundation Emerging Artist Grant, New York, NY^[48]
• 2015 Grantee, Awesome Foundation, New York, NY^[49]

Residencies

• 2012 Resident, The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY^[50]
• 2015 Fellow, Copy Shop Residency, Endless Editions, New York, NY^[51]
• 2018 Recipient, Wynn Newhouse Award, New York, NY^[52]
• 2018 Resident, Ace Hotel Artist Residency, Curated by Taeyoon Choi, New York, NY^[53]
• 2018 Resident, Art + Disability Residency, Art Beyond Sight, New York, N^[54] Y
• 2018 Fellow, WITH x SYPartners, New York, NY^[55]
• 2019 Resident, at Eyebeam, New York, NY in 2019^[56]
• 2023 Resident, Pioneer Works, New York, NY^[57]

See also

• Jennifer White-Johnson
• Indira Allegra

Further reading

• Web site: Meier . Allison . Art Revitalizes an Old Mill: Photographs from the Wassaic Project . Hyperallergic . 6 August 2013 . 21 May 2020.
• Web site: Wassaic Project Summer Festival . Chronogram . Sparrow . 21 May 2020.
• Web site: Mallouk . Elyse . On Laboring for Love . Art Practical . 21 May 2020.
• Web site: Wassaic Project July Festival . Tricolor News . Lakeville Journal . 21 May 2020.
• Web site: Vintage photo inspires Wassaic Project exhibit . Poughkeepsie Journal . 21 May 2020.
• Web site: Advocating for inclusivity through art and conversation, with Shannon Finnegan & Sugandha Gupta . Apple Podcast Preview . Designing For Humanity . 21 May 2020.
• Web site: 7 Queer Artists Who Are Breaking the Industry Standard . Out Magazine . 28 April 2019. 21 May 2020.
• Web site: c Issue 141 . c mag . 15 March 2019 . 21 May 2020.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Museum Bench #2 // Shannon Finnegan . The Invisible Dog . 13 September 2019 . 20 May 2020.
2. Web site: Sara . Emily . Fighting the Art World's Ableism . Hyperallergic . 2 August 2019 . 20 May 2020.
3. Web site: Shannon Finnegan and Aimi Hamraie on Accessibility as a Shared Responsibility . Art in America . 17 December 2019 . Art in America . 21 May 2020.
4. Web site: Green . Cheryl . Disability Visibility Podcast . Google Docs.
5. Web site: Shannon Finnegan '11 Talk . Carleton College . 21 May 2020.
6. Web site: Shannon Finnegan . Wassaic Project . 21 May 2020.
7. Web site: A distinct aggregation / A dynamic equivalent / A generous ethic of invention: Six writers respond to six sculptures.
8. Web site: Shannon Finnegan . High Line . 20 May 2020.
9. Web site: Disarming Language: disability, communication, rupture . Tallinn Art Hall . 20 May 2020.
10. Web site: Nook Gallery is with Shannon Finnegan and Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo . Facebook . Nook Gallery . 21 May 2020.
11. Web site: Shannon Finnegan . Wassaic Project . 20 May 2020.
12. Web site: Town Hall: Art, Disability, Labor . Brooklyn Museum . 20 May 2020.
13. Web site: POETIC COMPUTATION . School for Poetic Computation (SFPC) . 20 May 2020.
14. Web site: Locus: Art as a Disabled Space, Art and Disability Residency Exhibition, Panel, and Reception . The 8th Floor . 21 May 2020.
15. Web site: About the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library . Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library . New York Public Library . 21 May 2020.
16. Web site: Shannon Finnegan . Wynn Newhouse Awards . 20 May 2020.
17. Web site: Locus: Art as a Disabled Space, Art and Disability Residency Exhibition, Panel, and Reception . The 8th Floor . 21 May 2020.
18. Web site: 2019 Eyebeam Residents Announced . Eyebeam . 28 September 2018 . 20 May 2020.
19. Mary Banas, A Completely Customized World Where Everything Is Just How I Like and Need It: The Work of Shannon Finnegan, Web site: c Issue 141 . C mag . 15 March 2019 . 20 May 2020.
20. Web site: Shannon Finnegan and Aimi Hamraie on Accessibility as a Shared Responsibility . Art in America . 17 December 2019 . Art in America . 20 May 2020.
21. News: Israel . Alex . New York Art Galleries: What to See Right Now . The New York Times . 23 May 2019 . 20 May 2020.
22. Web site: DUEL: Recent Work by Shannon Finnegan . Facebook . 21 May 2020.
23. Web site: Should / Can't // Shannon Finnegan . The Invisible Dog . 19 April 2014 . 21 May 2020.
24. Web site: Bodies . Carleton College . 21 May 2020.
25. Web site: fashionablecanes dot com . Tete-a-tete . 21 May 2020.
26. Web site: Reinventing my Strangeness // Shannon Finnegan . The Invisible Dog . 2 May 2017 . 21 May 2020.
27. Web site: Shannon Finnegan . Wassaic Project . 21 May 2020.
28. Web site: Fighting the Art World's Ableism . Hyperallergic . 2 August 2019 . 21 May 2020.
29. Web site: Shannon Finnegan: Lone Proponent of Wall-to-Wall Carpet . Carleton University Art Gallery . 21 May 2020.
30. https://www.masonexhibitions.org/exhibitions/disrupt-and-resist Mason Exhibitions website
31. Web site: She's Crafty . This Week in New York . 21 May 2020.
32. Web site: Lutz . Jon . Peaces on Earth . Sardines . 21 May 2020 . 26 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191026060559/http://sardinebk.com/peaces-on-earth . dead .
33. Web site: Events Archives . The Invisible Dog . 21 May 2020.
34. Web site: 2013 Summer Exhibition Homeward Found . Wassaic Project . 21 May 2020.
35. Web site: INK+IMAGE . Facebook . Outlet . 21 May 2020.
36. Web site: Drawings Along Myrtle: October Exhibition . Mytle Avenue Brooklyn . 21 May 2020.
37. Web site: BOGO . Davidson Gallery . 21 May 2020.
38. Web site: Company Art Project . A4 Contemporary Arts Center . 21 May 2020.
39. Web site: events . Radiator Arts . 21 May 2020.
40. Web site: Endless Biennial 2016 . Facebook . 21 May 2020.
41. Web site: Works: Reflections on Failure . Radiator Arts . 21 May 2020.
42. Web site: The Smell – Out On The Streets . Sociometry . 21 May 2020.
43. Web site: The Manifesto Show . Facebook . Nook Gallery . 21 May 2020.
44. Web site: Exhibitions . Wassaic Project . 21 May 2020.
45. Web site: In/With Chelsea . High Line . 21 May 2020.
46. Web site: A distinct aggregation / A dynamic equivalent / A generous ethic of invention: Six writers respond to six sculpturesnn Thomas, at Banff Centre . Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity . 21 May 2020.
47. Web site: Shannon J Finnegan . BRIC . 21 May 2020.
48. Web site: Shannon Finnegan . The Rema Hort Mann Foundatio . 21 May 2020.
49. Web site: About Us . The Awesome Foundation . 21 May 2020.
50. Web site: Shannon Finnegan . Wassaic Project . 21 May 2020.
51. Web site: Copy Shop . Endless Editions . 21 May 2020.
52. Web site: Shannon Finnegan . Wynn Newhouse Awards . 21 May 2020.
53. Web site: Announcing Artists in Residence at Ace Hotel New York . Distributed Web of Care . 27 April 2018 . 21 May 2020.
54. Web site: Art Beyond Sight: Artist Disability Institute . Dedalus . 21 May 2020.
55. Web site: WITH . The Disabled List . 21 May 2020.
56. Web site: Shannon Finnegan . Eyebeam . 21 May 2020.
57. Web site: Finnegan Shannon . 2023-05-19 . Finnegan Shannon.