Crip News v.85

Jun 12, 2023

Opening an Inventory of Access

In large black letters, Cultivating Access Ecologies. (2023 is sideways, hiding underneath.) The image has a lot of vibrant neon colors, including blocks of bright green. There are 4 features that represent 4 sacred elements: a liquid surface mid-splash right after a droplet lands (water), a chunk of a concrete curb displaced by activists with sledgehammers in Denver 1978 (earth), a glitchy power on/off symbol (fire), and, in the background of the image, HEPA filters (air). The water and the concrete images became brushes, creating streaking patterns that paint the canvas. — Design by **Kevin Gotkin**.

This week as part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City Festival, we are kicking off the “Cultivating Access Ecologies” series that I am honored to be curating. The first event, on Friday, June 16th from 5:30 - 7pm ET, is called “Access Worlding: An Inventory Workshop.” Artists Una Osato and Pato Hebert will share some work and I’ll be in conversation with Rebecca Cokley about access and organizing across Turtle Island. And together, we’ll ask: What tools and processes do we have to build worlds with access?

The event will take place in 3 places simultaneously: in-person at The Garden at Lincoln Center (where masks are required), on Zoom, and in a virtual world designed for this series by Bianca Carague. ASL, CART, audio description by Madison Zalopany, and doula-ing will anchor the access ecology as we catalogue and expand.

And there are 3 more events in the series:

Saturday, July 1st, 7 - 9pm ET: An Evening of Access Magic with DJ Crip Time (Stefana Fratila), Jerron Herman, and vibro-tactile silent disco suits by Music: Not Impossible
Thursday, July 6th, 5:30 - 7pm ET: Access Ecologies Design Conference
Thursday, July 27th, 7 - 9pm ET: Closing Party with DJ Nico DiMarco, Syrus Marcus Ware, and JJJJJerome Ellis

Hope to be with you there soon.

New Works

A bearded Black disabled artist is closing their eyes as they tilt their head toward the sun, feeling feather-like plants on their bare body. — **Abdul-Aliy Muhammad** in “**At Ease**” (2021) by **Shoog**.

For the Narrative Initiative, Pato Hebert and Abdul Aliy-Muhammad share conversation to “reflect on how the work of artists propel justice movements and why a disability framework is key to inclusivity and understanding.”

"The cover of our Summer issue, online next week and on newsstands June 13, features a drawing of a dog perched on its hind legs, midmotion—so much so that she appears to be almost sliding or dancing off the page as she reaches for a leash (or is it a length of ribbon?). The first thing I noticed about the cover—besides its chic abundance of white space, which seems to beg me to spill coffee or red wine on it—was the dog’s smile. Her eyes are closed almost beatifically, and her mouth is curved in that upside-down rainbow that anyone who has ever loved a dog will recognize. This is a cover that, appropriately for summer, will bring you joy. The canine in question is London, the guide dog of our cover artist, Emilie Louise Gossiaux. Gossiaux and I chatted on the phone about her unique relationship with London, her especially tactile drawing practice, and human-animal connection." Description by Sophie Haigney.

The Paris Review’s Sophie Haigney interviews Emilie Louise Gossiaux about the cover star of the publication’s Summer 2023 issue, Emilie’s dog London.
Australian disabled musician Eliza Hull has released a new single, “Running Underwater,” and boosted 5 other disabled artists in The AU Review.
The Progressive Art Studio Collective, a Detroit gallery for disabled artists, recently launched a campaign to open a permanent space.
In Singapore, ART:DIS is organizing A Piece of Home, an exhibition featuring over 60 artworks across the mediums of paintings, prints and ceramics by 26 artists with disabilities. Open through June 18.

At the Beach

Park McArthur’s keynote address at the MIT List Center’s Altered Access conference including a new video work, “Day,” which owes you a day at the beach.

A few weeks ago, I noted the SeaTrac beach chairs being installed across Greece. And The New York Times recently reported on new beach wheelchairs with balloon-like tires for navigating the sand.

CALLS

SiQ is seeking sound artists, musicians and DJs to collaborate with as guests for the Serenity Sphere Sound Sets during virtual events. Submissions from QTBIPOC chronically ill and disabled artists will be prioritized. Sound artist guests are paid a small honorarium for a 30-minute set. More here.
One of SiQ’s organizers, Thai Lu, needs funds for emergency medical bandages. Donate here.
The Critical Design Lab is seeking new members for the 2023-2024 school year. Membership applications are open to current undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, and community scholars. Visit www.mapping-access.com/membership-opportunities for detailed descriptions and more information.
The Keri Gray Group is a Marketing Coordinator for Disability & Racial Justice Advocacy.
Sista Creatives Rising, a project founded by Black, invisibly disabled mother-daughter duo Claire Jones and Amaranthia Sepia, has issued an international open call for “Art & Mind: I Know Who I Am!” exploring journeys of women of color and femme-expressing creatives. Submit by July 1st. More info here.

EVENTS

CONNECTING CARE: Collective Action + Socially Engaged Art

Tuesday, June 16, 6pm ET, on Zoom

Join Rosine 2.0 and members of What Would an HIV Doula Do? (WWHIVDD) on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 from 6–7:30pm EDT for a conversation with artists, activists, and thinkers, based around the US and in Canada, who are working collectively in the context of socially engaged art and social justice through laboratory harm reduction, grassroots care networks, and community archives. Pato Hebert, Theodore (ted) Kerr, Alexandra Juhasz, and Carol Stakenas have organized this virtual roundtable to celebrate the publication of Rosine 2.0: Futures + Histories of Collective Care. With Owólabi Aboyade, JD Davids, Umi Hsu, Elaine Lopez, Mikiki, Danny Orendorff, Molly Pearson, The People’s Paper Co-op, Blake Paskal, Olivia R. Polk, Jamara Wakefield, Bridget Quinn, and Kathleen S. Yep.

Rite to Mourn

Saturday June 17, 3-6pm ET, on Zoom.

SiQ presents another iteration of our series Rite To Mourn – a virtual grieving space for the disabled community and our comrades. With clouds of climate crisis looming in our atmosphere, we feel it is ever imperative to acknowledge the planetary grief that accompanies the current events. As most of the world continues to evade calls for direct action against paramounting eugenics, we want SiQ-Os to know we’re still here WITH you. During this month of Pride, we question what we have left to be proud of, as our able-bodied peers engage in ableist, inaccessible events, while we remain isolated and afraid of the inevitable consequences of their actions. We’re not free til we’re ALL free— healthcare included— so let us not forget how much disabled trans folks are grieving and grappling with at this time.

In-Person Verbal Description Tour: Made in Japan

Thursday, June 15, 6 - 8pm ET, at Poster House (NYC)

Members of the low-vision and blind community are invited to this exciting, in-person Vibrant Verbal Description Tour at Poster House. This after-hours event will provide exclusive access to the museum’s hit exhibition, Made in Japan: 20th-Century Poster Art. The tour will be led by Chief Curator Angelina Lippert, who has led our virtual description tours for the past two years. This intimate experience will allow guests to get up close with all the posters described, as well as provide additional tactile objects to help illuminate the art. Light refreshments will be provided.