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The Dearest Friends Project at GRAM

White charcoal drawing of two females. One has a scar across her back with a wheelchair nearby.

September 15-October 31, 2021

For ArtPrize at Grand Rapids Art Museum, a selection of Thiele’s striking illustrations was transformed into dramatic, large-scale banners and panels that were installed on all four sides of the museum’s exterior. This outdoor presentation brought the personal and political presence of the disability community to the heart of downtown Grand Rapids. Symbolically, the monumental scale of the project acted as an exaggerated, aesthetic counterbalance to the lack of disability presence in cities across the country.


My Dearest Friends Project seeks reaction and response. Disabled people are often spoken for, prompting the phrase ​“nothing about us, without us.” The growing collection of testimonies from disabled people for this project offer insight into the complex and varying experiences of physical and mental differences. The project aims to create a sense of solace and togetherness in the collective experiences of the disability community.

Collection of white fabric letters laser cut from weather-proof fabric

Stories Collected Globally

The exhibition featured a curated selection of +15 disabled stories collected throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dearest Friends Project financially compensates each contributor for the right to display the submissions.

Oaklee, a white woman, sews white letters to a 25 ft black banner. Her cane and service dog nearby.

Hand-sewn Banners

Head Project Artist Oaklee Thiele illustrated and hand-sewed each large-scale banner, with some works ranging as tall as 25 feet. 

My Dearest Friends at the GRAM

A man stands on a ladder, applying vinyl to the side of the Grand Rapids Art Museum building.
White charcoal drawings in Oaklee Thiele's signature style adorn the side of the GRAM building.
White charcoal drawings in Oaklee Thiele's signature style adorn the side of the GRAM building.
White charcoal drawings in Oaklee Thiele's signature style adorn the side of the GRAM building.
White charcoal drawings in Oaklee Thiele's signature style adorn the side of the GRAM building.
A 30 foot hand-sewn banner is pictured attached to the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
A white charcoal drawing of a crowd with illustrations of the COVID-19 virus among them.
A 30 foot hand-sewn banner is pictured attached to the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
A charcoal drawing of a person on a medical exam chair adorns a GRAM window,
A line of white charcoal drawings of diversely disabled figures.
A charcoal drawing of two female figures sitting in a grassy field under a sky full of stars.
A white charcoal drawing of a man in a power chair surrounded by canaries.
A 30 foot hand-sewn banner is pictured attached to the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

Audio tour of GRAM

Satellite Locations

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My Dearest Friends at Satellite locations

Oaklee Thiele's vinyl art is pictured on the side of a building, an urban scene pictured around it.
Oaklee sits in her wheelchair with Coco beside her. A large vinyl sticker adorns the GRCM window.
Disart And Oaklee Thiele's artist statement is pictured next to a drawing of a cross-legged woman.
Vinyl stickers of abstracted charcoal drawings on windows of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital.
"To my disabled friends: You do not owe anyone an explanation."

Audio Tour of Satellite Locations

Grand Rapids Children's Museum, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, Kendall College of Art and Design

With Support From

Copyright © 2022 My Dearest Friends Project - All Rights Reserved.

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