LSSU Accessibility Services hosted its first Disability Art Gallery this spring in the Kenneth J. Shouldice Library. The artwork was on display throughout the month of April and a small reception featuring some of the disabled artists who contributed was held on April 9th. The reception followed a talk by disability advocate Lucia Rios earlier in the day, who spoke about her experience as a first-generation college graduate and navigating life as a disabled person with spina bifida.
The art gallery, reception, and Rios’ talk were organized by the Accessibility Coordinator at LSSU, Hannah Burton-Parrish. The reception was open to both LSSU students and the Sault community, all of whom offered positivity and support to the artists displaying their work.
The art gallery represented a means of defying the stigma associated with the word ‘disability’ and the focus on the limits imposed by disabilities, both visible and invisible. Art allows disabled students and community members to share their unique perspectives on both college life and life in general, and to show both how their disabilities impact their lives and how much they can do despite their disabilities. The art gallery also served as a means of raising awareness of not just visible disabilities, but also invisible ones and the struggle people with invisible disabilities face trying to have their disabilities and the effects they have on them recognized and taken seriously. Often, people with invisible disabilities are overlooked or dismissed because they “don’t look disabled” or “aren’t disabled enough” because they can see, hear, and walk. They may even be accused of pretending to be disabled to take advantage of assistance or accommodations due to the lack of awareness surrounding invisible disabilities and the debilitating effects they can have on people and their daily lives. By sharing their work, disabled artists show others how they experience daily life, how their disabilities impact them, and that they can still express themselves and live life despite the hurdles their disabilities place in their way.
If you were unable to see the art gallery in person, check out pictures of the art below!
