James Hollenbaugh

A Life Like This

2023 / 43 Minutes 21 seconds / HD Video / Color / Sound

A documentary portrait, highlighting the lived experiences and creative work of four outsider artists working and living with disability in Central Pennsylvania. Artists with disability, both mental and physical, consistently face discrimination, inequity, and underexposure at both local and national levels. This film aims to de-stigmatize an underrepresented demographic of artists as it tells the four unique stories of Malcolm Corley, Adam Musser, Sybil Roe Thompson and David Nolt who create without pretension or boundaries as a means to communicate and express how art shapes and impacts their lives.

“This documentary beautifully captures how art is a powerful tool for these artists: it is a source of value and self-esteem, a means for communication and self expression.” - Benedetta Fabris, Video Librarian