2026 Universal Access Artist in Residence
Residency Dates: June 1-31, 2026 // Exhibition Dates: July 2-August 2, 2026
Initiated in 2018, the Universal Access Artist Residency is for artists who identify as having a disability. This month-long residency provides funding, studio space, and professional support for a national artist to produce a solo exhibition immediately following the residency at Artspace. During the residency the artist works in the gallery where the work will be exhibited.
Artist Statement
“For most of my life, I was a shadow; wrapping myself so tightly in the images of others, I sacrificed any dignity just to breathe. Voice was something unimaginable and frighteningly deadly. Have you ever experienced a breath as if it were the first? I have, and in that breath, I felt for the first time, heard for the first time, smelled for the first time, and saw for the first time. I tasted breath, and I liked it.
I am an artist, poet, and advocate living with Neuromyelitis Optica, a rare autoimmune disease affecting my optic nerves and spinal cord. I paint both using my eyes through eye gaze technology and also my mouth holding the pen or brush, mixing both digital and traditional mediums. Most recently I use MouthPad technology turning my tongue into my brush and the roof of my mouth a trackpad.
Drawing and writing began as instinct for survival. Exquisite stories of texture and shape; anxious and methodical lines of reflection and observation. The pieces move and have their being within the context of their environment.
Abstract figurative work with my body as model and spirit as guide. Plein air micro-painting and poetry; intimacy and sense of place; using the creative process to heal within myself, connect individuals, and engage creative conversations. Today, I am feeling into a new space of experience. We are walking a new direction in the evolution of our art and the creative process. We are breathing, and we like it.”
– Connie Sales
About the Artist:
CONNIE SALES is an artist, poet, and advocate living with Neuromyelitis Optica, a rare autoimmune disease affecting her optic nerves and spinal cord. They paint both using their eyes through eye gaze technology and also with their mouth, holding the pen or brush, mixing both digital and traditional mediums. Most recently, they use MouthPad technology, turning their tongue into their brush and the roof of their mouth a trackpad.
Exhibited and collected nationally and internationally, in 2019, Microsoft visited her studio, and in 2022, through the Lunar Codex project, images of her art and a video of her demonstrating painting with her eyes, headed to the moon. They are inspired by how art holds space to receive, absorb, and uncover suffering, joy, and community; all while discovering a capacity for safety and grace.
North Carolina Emerging Artist Residency
Since 2000, Artspace has provided emerging visual artists with time and space to explore their work in a supportive and thriving open studio environment in our historic building at the heart of downtown Raleigh. Every year, Artspace selects up to two artists in an emerging stage of their professional careers to participate in this year-long residency.
During their residency, artists benefit from 24 hour access to a rent-free studio space, a monthly stipend, opportunities for professional development and community engagement, a professionally installed solo exhibition at Artspace within the year after completing their residency and more.
Purchase a piece from the exhibition! Several pieces in this show are available for purchase. For purchase inquiries, please visit Artspace or contact info@artspacenc.org.