A special art show dedicated to creating community awareness of cognitive and physical disabilities is happening at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital. There are hundreds of pieces in the annual Art Ability show that inspire artists to reach beyond their limitations.

The art workshop is about learning new forms of expression.

Rachel Coleman from Shy Fox Studio leads the class and does something called fluid art. She has retinitis pigmentosa, a chronic hereditary eye disease, that limits her vision.

After a family tragedy, she turned to art as therapy.

"I lost all sense of time, stress, anxiety, all of that, and it was just — it changed my life," Coleman said.

Coleman is now the featured artist for the hospital's 30th annual Art Ability show.

"It's an amazing show because it showcases disabilities," Coleman said, "and we have all types of disabilities."

The show features 400 pieces from 170 artists who have some kind of challenge.

"We have some who have had traumatic brain injuries, strokes, MS," Erin Panner, program coordinator for Art Ability at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, said. "It is a wide variety of disabilities that we cover here."

"What we always say about Art Ability is that it is truly about that artist's ability and not their disability," Panner added. "It's just inspiration to think about these artists and their stories and to see how far they've come, and then just to see their artwork on the wall is amazing."

The work that's for sale comes from disabled artists all over the world, who have to be accepted to be in the juried exhibition.

"We are able to create," Coleman said. "We're about to live full lives."

It's a showcase of people turning challenges into beautiful art.

The show in Malvern runs through Feb. 1. Some of the proceeds from sales will go to the artists.