“For a lot of our artists, their artwork is the easiest, most direct way … for them to communicate,” executive director Mary Liniger said. “When you see what someone’s able to create, you look at them in a different way.”

Upon seeing the work of the Art Enables’ artists at Artomatic both last year and this year, our curiosity was piqued. The nonprofit art space labels their work “outsider art inside the beltway,” and they insist that they are not a school for disabled artists, but part outsider art studio and part employment program. The 27 artists work full days at the studio one to four times per week—honing their skills, experimenting with new ideas,…