When visual and performance artist Gloria Swain presented her HIDDEN exhibition in 2020, she included a written acknowledgment that held space for fellow artists who couldn’t attend due to invisible disabilities. The showcase of work by Black artists with disabilities was held at the Tangled Art Gallery in Toronto, a space that is dedicated to showcasing the work of artists with disabilities, including Swain, who identifies as Mad.
“That was such a poignant demonstration of disability justice,” says Sean Lee, director of programming for Tangled Art + Disability, who has congenital scoliosis. “We’ve taken that to heart and included a care clause in our contracts to articulate that everyone’s mental health and safety are the most important parts, not the deliverables of the exhibition. The artist will still get paid even if they cannot fulfill everything promised, or their show is delayed.”
Tangled Art + Disability is not only a gallery—it’s also a charitable organization dedicated to enhancing opportunities for artists with disabilities and promoting disability justice. Launched in 2003 as the not-for-profit Abilities Arts Festival, the organization’s founding mission was to elevate discussion and awareness of art created by people with disabilities. The aim was to promote diversity and inclusion in the mainstream art world while ensuring artists with disabilities were part of the larger cultural conversation.
Esta historia es de la edición November 2021 de The Walrus.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 2021 de The Walrus.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.
The Upside-Down Book
In her new novel, Rachel Cusk makes the case for becoming a stranger to yourself
Pick a Colour
BACK HERE, I can hear a group of women trickle in. Filling the floor with giggles and voices.
Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy
Familial separation can have devastating consequences on mental health and productivity
The Briefcase
What I learned about being a writer from trying to finish a dead man's book
In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It
Thousands have died trying to cross into the US from Mexico. Each year, activists follow their harrowing trek
Blood Language
Menstruation ties us to the land in ways we've all but forgotten
Dream Machines
The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
Invisible Lives
Without immigration status, Canada's undocumented youth stay in the shadows
My Guilty Pleasure
"The late nights are mine alone, and I'll spend them however I damn well please"