COVID-19: Appropriation of Disability Culture & Movements

This is ACT II of The Field’s 2022 Activate Equity series.

The first years of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022) brought about an unprecedented level of disabled-led discourse and education within social spheres, including the arts. As the pandemic rages on and disabled death is normalized, appropriations of “care” and “community” are revealing themselves. The Disability Justice movement in particular - an abolitionist movement with a specific history and leadership structure - is being used as an in-crowd signal in the arts. Many invoke its name to check boxes and sustain power, leadership, and resource access, resulting in harm to the very communities they publicly claim to lift up. Funding streams, resource-granting institutions, administrators, and artists all contribute to the systemic harm impacting disabled communities. Audre & L will frame and share perspectives on appropriation of disability culture & movements in arts and social justice spaces.

Hyp-ACCESS is a Disability Justice organization addressing Hypermobile care neglect by facilitating intersectional disability accessibility practices and education in the performing arts, movement techniques, research, & medicine. Widespread hypermobility is a diverse, multisystemic experience impacting 1 in 5 people. Co-directors Audre Wirtanen (she, her) and L Tuthall (they, she) are creating a future where hypermobility is recognized as a common disability and all spaces provide accessible resources tailored to this growing community’s historical context. They center disabled community, and work with practitioners, clinicians, and institutions in service of care justice. Access to care includes access to the arts. Learn more at https://hyp-access.com/

ASL Interpretation will be provided. Please download the latest version of Zoom so that you may utilize the live captioning option. Please send any questions you may have to Program Associate Natalie Mármol at natalie@thefield.org.

This event will last approx 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Pay-what-you wish
Registration for this event closes May 10th, at 4:00 PM ET.