Crip News v.138
Disability Pride, new works, calls, and events.
HAPPY DISABILITY PRIDE
Today we flow from LGBTQIA+ Pride into Disability Pride in the U.S. July is the anniversary month for the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which turns 34 this year. The many Disability Pride events organized around the country are opportunities to cherish and build community as disabled people face new depths of ongoing struggles for survival.
Dancing Through It
The party is where I process the joy and the pain of it all. And this Saturday, July 6th from 6 - 8pm ET, I’m honored to continue my annual collaboration with Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City Festival at NYC’s largest outdoor dance floor. I’m organizing an access-anchored silent disco called “An Evening of Access Magic” featuring choreographic offerings with Jerron Herman in the legacy of Adrian Piper’s Funk Lessons, a DJ set by Who Girl (yours truly), access artistry from Madison Zalopany and danilo machado, a performance by Austin Halls, haptic suits by Music: Not Impossible, ASL song-signing, and captioning. We keep each other safe by masking up!
37 Years Ago in Playboy
On July 1, 1987, model/actress Ellen Stohl became the first out disabled woman to appear in Playboy Magazine. After training and performing with disabled dance and theater artists in the mid-80s, she wrote to Hugh Hefner. “Sexuality is the hardest thing for a disabled person to hold on to,” she wrote. Today marks the 37th anniversary of her 8-page spread in the magazine.
NEWS
New Works
MASK UP, WE NEED YOU: Palestinian Solidarity, Covid-19, and the Struggle for Liberation is “a 40-page illustrated primer for those who consider themselves co-strugglers for Palestinian liberation, yet may not understand the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as both a genocide in itself, and a tool of genocide that perpetuates all others.” The work, free for Mask Blocs, organizers, and encampments, is a collaboration between Rimona Eskayo and Sheyam Ghieth.
As part of his fellowship with The Slow Factory, organizer Sulaiman R. Khan has published a course called “Access Intimacy for Disability Justice” about “Disability, sex, and relationships for new ways of being and moving towards a just, liberated and regenerative future and processes.”
Kate Seltzer has published a feature about the disabled artists at Richmond, Virginia’s Milk River Arts in RVA Mag.
Sista Creatives Rising is presenting work supported by "The Sistas Uprising Fund,” a charity project to help marginalized women & marginalized genders gain financial support through microgrants. The show is installed in a 3D virtual gallery hosted by Kunstmatrix and a 17-minute documentary showcasing the artists.
A new study from researchers at the University of Washington finds that ChatGPT is biased against CVs with credentials that imply disability.
CALLS
Mask Bloc NYC and A.I.R. NYC are calling for everyone to resist Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams’s recent push for a mask ban. More on how to help.
Disabled icon Corbett O’Toole’s van and home was recently stolen, along with her clothes, family history, and everything she owned. Donate here to help get her a new home.
Tangled Art + Disability in Toronto is seeking exhibition proposals from Deaf, Mad, and Disability-identified artists and curators, as well as arts organizations and other cultural producers who practice Disability Arts and Curation. Information session on July 4. Apply by August 9. More here.
Disabled artist Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn is seeking peep shows from disabled people for a photographic installation project called SPANKBOX.ATL. More here.
EVENTS
Nara’s Virtual “Pool” Party
TODAY, July 1, 7 - 9pm CT, online
Put on your swimsuit and Zoom from your bathtub, shower, a body of water, or from the comfort of your bed for a 2 hour virtual accessible dance party supporting a disabled mom and her kids, hosted by Sky from Rebirth Garments. Get tickets + bid on the auction at givebutter.com/naraparty. Dance to beats from DJ Queer Shoulders. Featuring selections from past Rebirth Garments and Radical Visibility Collective fashion performances. We will be hyping up Nara’s fundraiser while talking about all the art and services in our auction that you can bid on (we now have 64 items!)
Kinetic Light at Poster House
Friday, July 5, 7 - 8pm ET, in-person (NYC)
Poster House is delighted to welcome the disability arts ensemble Kinetic Light. Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson will be presenting a work-in-progress excerpt from their newest dance work, The Next T.i.M.es, and additional Kinetic Light works.
Dark Room Ballet Teacher Training
Saturdays, July 6 - August 10, online
This special all-virtual course for current and future movement educators continues our commitment to access, inclusion and disability justice for blind and visually impaired people.
DYSPLA Chat
Sunday, July 7, 10 - 11:30 BST, online
DYSPLA's creative directors Lennie and Kazimir will be on call to chat with anyone who fancies waking up early on a Sunday morning to talk neurodivergent creativity, productivity, and methodology - (promise it's more fun than it sounds).