Home
About
- Who We Are
- Sponsors
Programs
- COOL Schools
- Cultural Inclusion
Gallery
Blog
Give
- Donate
- Volunteer

Open Door Gallery

Disability and Intersectionality

September 1 - November 10, 2016

Artist Reception: September 15, 2016 4-7pm

Art has long been a powerful medium for individuals to convey messages and concepts that may otherwise be difficult to express. Have you ever wondered how your individuality, your community, or your identity can be portrayed in artwork? Have you ever thought about who and what is being represented in artwork, and how art can add to these conversations of social justice?

In partnership with the Open Door Gallery and the Disability Policy Consortium, the Disability & Intersectionality Summit curated this exhibit that sheds light on the theme Disability and Intersectionality. The exhibit explores this theme through the creative works of artists with disabilities whose identities and artwork have also been shaped by their experiences of disability, gender, race, sexuality, age, or ethnicity.

"Intersectionality" examines how intersecting identities such as gender, race, class, ability, sexual orientation, religion, and age interact, and proposes that we should think of each element as inextricably linked with other elements in order to fully recognize an individual's identity.

Artists:

Corbett O'Toole

Corbett is an author and independent scholar documenting the history of people within the disability rights and justice communities. Her work has been presented widely, and her first book, FADING SCARS, is available through Autonomous Press.

This queen-sized quilt was created for the People of Color Caucus of the Society for Disability Studies. Purchased by a private collector, the sale generated $1,5OO for the Chris Bell Scholarship Fund which benefits disabled people of color. The Disability & Intersectionality Summit has the quilt on loan.

For more information about Corbett's work, art, and speaking engagements go to her website: www.corbettotoole.com

Den Sweeney

Curvature is a collaboration between Philadelphia-based photographer, Dennis Sweeney, and poet Travis Lau. This project deliberately places photographic portraits alongside lyric poetry to explore the interconnections between scoliosis-related disability and queerness. These dyadic works seek to challenge the conventions of traditional portraiture and modeling, which tend to privilege certain able bodies deemed aesthetically beautiful. How do we represent a queer body in pain? How might that body have its own aesthetic or even resist visual and even textual representation? This project attempts to embody the late Tobin Siebers' commitment to a disability aesthetic that refuses to recognize the representation of the healthy body - and its definition of harmony, integrity, and beauty--as the sole determination of the aesthetic.

For more information about Den Sweeney's photography visit: www.dspphotostudios.com

Ellen Mansfield

Born Deaf in Manhattan, NY but grew up in New Jersey for 7 years, Ellen attended public school where she learned poorly without sign language and interpreters. She spent all her summers in Goldens Bridge countryside, north of New York City. Ellen earned a BFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Ellen has led a life filled with art and experiences with a background in drawing, painting, batik, ceramics, and many other media that have brought her onto her current journey. She has led many workshops in ceramics, drawings, and paintings for over 250 Deaf children, hearing children of Deaf parents, and Deaf adults. Ellen keeps a home studio called Ellen's Tile Stroke Studio in Frederick.

Her painting "Stop Waste" shows the two trucks of Trash and Recycle which represent how Deaf schools deal with signing ASL, American Sign Language and Deaf Education.

The Trash truck represents oppression, Audism, and Audistocracy. The recycle truck represents Deaf Education growth and ASL is a benefit. Many Deaf Schools do not include American Sign Language as they use different language in the oralism method and not asthenic ASL. Often Deaf Schools are closed down because Deaf children go to mainstreamed school, and become isolated from the 'Deaf culture tribe'.

For more information on Ellen and her work visit: www.ellenmansfield.com

Kimball Anderson

Kimball Anderson is an artist and writer who draws from personal experiences of chronic fatigue syndrome and agoraphobia, which manifest in an interest in delineating the subtlest of sensation with accuracy. Kimball's art gently but analytically probes at our automatic and seemingly uninteresting self, honoring it as something meaningful and filled with beautiful ambiguities.

The pieces selected for this exhibit are focusing on how self-conception and self-definition can be made difficult through illness or disability. At times the artist feels as though gender, and gender expression cannot be given the space to be explored and defined because he seems to not exist in the world enough, or have the clarity of thought or control over his body.

Linh Honglinh

Born in 1985, Linh Honglinh lives in Ha Tinh province in Vietnam. Linh has a progressive disability that makes holding a brush, and verbal communication increasingly difficult. For him, every brush stroke for each painting he creates expresses his desire to live intensely. Many of his paintings have the desire to express innocence and bright ideas. His home is covered with his artwork of nature scenes, people, and people with disabilities.

The painting 'Summer Afternoon' was inspired from a childhood memory from the village he lives. In the afternoons the children ride buffalos and play the flute.

Michael Mort

Mike Mort is a blogger, intersectional activist and artist. He is also a film, television and music lover. A conversation enthusiast, who is disabled but not your inspiration.

Mike lives in Syracuse, NY.

For more of Mike's writing visit: www.disableidentity.wordpress.com

For apparel with Mike's graphic designs visit: teepublic.com/user/rollingmort91

Naomi Ortiz

Naomi Ortiz is a writer, poet, and visual artist who cracks apart common beliefs and spills out beauty. Her art is like dirt, hundreds of grains coming together growing nourishment. Naomi's book, Sustaining Spirit: Self-Care for Social Justice, exploring self-care for social justice activists and their communities, will be released by Autonomous Press in February 2017. Through facilitated discussion, art, poetry, and other practices, Naomi supports individuals and groups to build bridges connecting them to their own truths around self-care and living in multiple worlds. Naomi is a nationally known speaker and trainer on self-care for activists, disability justice, and intersectionality.

She lives in the U.S./Mexico borderlands. For more information on her work, and art, visit her website: www.selfcareforsocialjustice.com

Nguyen Tan Hien

Nguyen Tan Hien is a disabled artist from Vietnam, born in 1978. After a traffic accident in 2002 Nguyen lost the ability to walk, and have very limited use of his arms. His disability has prevented him from attending art school because the classes were upstairs, and there was no elevator. Since then he has become a self-taught artist. His work has been featured in art shows both in Vietnam and internationally.

Rachel Scoggins

Rachel Scoggins is a mixed race woman of color artist with an intellectual disability. She lives in Tucson, AZ and is an art teacher for the disabled.

Rhys McGovern

Rhys McGovern is a queer, white, hard of hearing teacher and artist of indeterminate gender. Art is the preferred means of exploring and integrating the experiences of visible and invisible disabilities.

Travis Lau

Curvature is a collaboration between photographer Dennis Sweeney and poet Travis Lau. The project deliberately places photographic portraits alongside lyric poetry to explore the interconnections between scoliosis-related disability and queerness. These dyadic works seek to challenge the conventions of traditional portraiture and modeling, which tend to privilege certain able bodies deemed aesthetically beautiful. How do we represent a queer body in pain? How might that body have its own aesthetic or even resist visual and even textual representation? This project attempts to embody the late Tobin Siebers' commitment to a disability aesthetic that refuses to recognize the representation of the healthy body - and its definition of harmony, integrity, and beauty--as the sole determination of the aesthetic.

Travis is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Department of English. For more information about Travis visit: https://travisclau.com/

Audio Description of Artwork

by Sandy Ho

play
pause
stop

Mute
Unmute

Update RequiredTo play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin

The Open Door Gallery promotes the work of artists with disabilities and shifts our community's perceptions of ability while enjoying quality art.

VSA Massachusetts
89 South Street, Suite 101
Boston, MA 02111

Voice 617-350-7713
Fax 617-482-4298
TTY 617-350-6535

For more information

about the Open Door Gallery

email .