Listen to this post:
One of the great joys of this blog for me (and my readers, I know!) is sharing other people’s art. Whether it’s Guest Bloggers or people I write about, this is what’s most exciting. That’s why the whole documentary project got started in the first place: I want people to recognize there are bazillions of disabled artists out doing amazing work. And because I hear too often that only certain people can create art or that only certain art is worth valuing and other art isn’t.
And also, I recently made a huge mistake on a radio show where I was a guest. I said some people with disabilities can’t advocate for ourselves. I meant that some of us (including me early on) can’t or don’t know how to advocate in the complex ways like filling out certain application forms, finding and accessing services, and demanding reasonable accommodations. That’s true. Some of us need to work in a community or group in order to do these things, and others of us can self-advocate solo.
But our presence in public as artists and activists is advocacy. Every time we demand respect and to be seen as having dignity, in whatever unconventional or unexpected ways we do it, that’s advocacy. Refusing to take a medication or do rehab can be motivated and intentional, not just oppositional or non-compliant. Following doctors’ orders can be a show of determination, not just being a good, quiet patient. Telling someone you love yourself, impairments and all, and even that you hate how your impairments have changed your life, can be forms of self-advocacy. Blogging? You got it.
Kris Haas has been on this blog several times. After all, she’s in the documentary film. Follow the link below to visit her new Etsy shop and find lovely delights to purchase.
www.etsy.com/shop/AbstractArtEXP
And check out this link. This, my friends, is Kris’s blog. She’s not just a Guest Blogger here or the subject of my musings. She has her own damn blog! She has her own story to tell, her own goals for her art, and her own space in which to talk about it.