Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

Disabled Legacies: Beyond Access and Inclusion (March Highlight)

Duration: 3:13 506 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

The video explores the critical importance of understanding disability history to properly contextualize current realities and inform future progress, emphasizing that societal barriers are often embedded within how communities have been constructed rather than residing within individuals themselves. Speakers highlight a profound desire to exist authentically without minimizing one's disabled experience for the comfort of others or to fit into an ableist world, noting that such suppression negatively impacts both personal identity and artistic practice. The narrative shifts from individual struggle to collective responsibility, asserting that all struggles are fundamentally entangled and that true freedom is only achievable when everyone in a community is free. A central theme involves redefining the scope of disability art beyond visible impairments to include invisible disabilities, urging society to appreciate the greater complexity, diversity, and nuance inherent in these experiences. The discussion connects artistic expression with broader social justice movements, suggesting that lessons learned from history should be applied across various sectors including engineering, science, and medicine to foster more inclusive environments. This educational approach aims to help individuals unlearn ingrained biases and rebuild their understanding of disability as a form of creativity involved in surviving adversity and creating shared spaces for community building. Hope is frequently linked to the formation of new connections between people who previously did not know each other, illustrating how bridging gaps leads to fertile ground for collaboration and mutual support across generations. The event itself serves as an intergenerational platform where activists and artists share stories and network, reinforcing the idea that disability represents a collective strength found in surviving together rather than just individual hardship. By fostering these deep connections within physical or virtual rooms, participants leave with a renewed sense of community that transcends their initial isolation. Ultimately, the message conveyed is one of interconnectedness where turning up for oneself inherently means showing up for neighbors and each other, creating a ripple effect of liberation throughout society. The speakers express optimism when surrounded by individuals committed to envisioning a new world built on these principles of unity and shared struggle. Through continued dialogue between different generations of activists and artists, the video concludes that disability is not merely a condition but a creative force in building resilient communities where everyone can be understood as their true selves without having to hide or diminish who they are.

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I just think it's important to understand some of the history because that puts the present in context and might help to inform the future. >> [music] >> I think it's making art that shows we exist [music] and to capture the complexity of disability. >> What's important to me is getting to a state where I can be [music] myself and be understood as myself. >> Knowing that there is a collective that other people have faced the same issues that you face, I think helps. >> I really wish that more people [music] knew about how fundamentally our communities were interconnected, that all our struggles are fundamentally entangled, and that to turn up for ourselves is to turn up for our neighbors, our communities, and each other. None of us are free until all of us are free. >> The barriers aren't necessarily within the individual, they're within the way that society's been constructed. >> I've been disabled for 20 years, and in order to fit into a really ableist world, I've been minimizing my disabled experience in order to to fit into spaces and to make other people comfortable. And in doing so, it affected not only my sense of self, but but also my art practice. >> So, it's really an education still needs [music] to happen towards an understanding of the greater complexity, diversity, and nuance [music] that disability has. >> My message would be to look at the broader aspect of disability and art, and not just to see certain disabilities, but to see all disabilities, even invisible ones. >> I think learning, like yesterday particularly about the history [music] of disability art and how like social justice the rights movement can be like brought into the space such as art. I really hope to see it in other sectors. [music] I hope to see it in engineering, in science, like dare I say medicine, like everywhere else. >> When I'm around people who are committed to seeing a new world, um that's when I have the most hope. So much of it is when we find people and ways to go across bridges, that's when I have the most hope. When I'm like, these people didn't know each other till they were in this room, in the zoom room, this real room, and then once they leave they can't imagine not knowing each other. >> The highlight for me is seeing something [music] that's so intergenerational. We have so many generations of uh activists and artists talking, sharing things. >> I've certainly networked with people here, which I'm going to try and um stay in touch with. So that to that extent it's going to be a very fertile >> [music] >> uh experience. >> So I wanted to come and I think knowledge is the way to sort of un- unlearn and unbuild. [music] So that that was my motivation for coming. >> Disability is creativity in surviving [music] and in creating spaces for ourselves and community together.