Crip News v.139
Disability wrath, new works, calls, and events.
DISABILITY WRATH MONTH
NOTE: Some of things in this section may hit on some tender points. If you don’t have the spoons, skip to the next section.
As we enter the middle of Disability Pride Month, I want to cover some of the reasons pride is a limited framework for disability organizing.
LGBTQIA+ Pride has shows us how the commemoration of a riot against police brutality has been co-opted into capitalist spectacle. Access becomes an afterthought and the conditions for violence against queer and trans people get ignored.
Similarly, “disability pride” can be a cover for institutions to avoid accountability. What is “pride” today without any truth or reconciliation for the profound and ongoing loss of disabled life wrought by Covid?
A collective of individuals and organizations have joined together to call for a free Palestine and the end to the U.S. disability establishment's partnership with war profiteers and complicity with genocide and colonialism. Sign the letter at DisabilityDivest.org. “Pride” asks disabled people to smile for the camera instead of rage about the genocide in Gaza. “Pride” asks us to look nice for a nondisabled gaze and ignores who’s getting rich off the care crisis.
Pride might work if you don’t want to challenge ableism and reject white supremacy culture. For many, “Disability Wrath” feels like a better way to describe what’s being lost and pushed aside.
NEWS
New Works
2024 marks the 50th year of the Supplemental Security Income program in the U.S. Last month, NPR’s Joseph Shapiro reported on how SSI often traps people in financial precarity.
Voices Embodied: Reverberations, curated Alex Stark in partnership with the Wellness Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, features the work of 18 local, national, and international disabled artists. Opening on July 12 and up through October 13 at The Design Museum of Chicago.
Some new podcast episodes are out:
CALLS
Mouthwater Festival is looking to train & pay audio describers based in Seattle. Email mouthwaterdance@gmail.com. More here.
DaDaFest is seeking disabled artists from the UK to submit expressions of interest for commissions in Visual Art (including photography and sculpture/installation), Music and Live Art to be part of the 40th anniversary festival in March 2025. Apply by July 12. More here.
Healing Justice Ldn is seeking an Editorial Steward (part-time 6-month contract). Apply ASAP. More here.
EVENTS
soak
Saturday, July 13, 7pm ET + Sunday, July 21, 3pm ET + Friday, August 2, 7pm ET, on Zoom
Crip xXgrandmacoreXx sound witch alexa dexa is honored to invite you to their communal crip ritual / remote access bathtub opera for soaking until the ache dissipates into lull, premiering with Experiments in Opera. Join alexa to soak over zoom from your bathtub/shower chair/shower/wash basin/sponge bath/kiddie pool/sitz bath/foot bath/area of cozy and enveloping rest and ease/in, with, or near any body of water big or very small (an ocean, lake, river, creek/rain, snow, steam, or ice/a glass of water/our own bodies), real or imagined (because who is the arbiter of what is real anyway?).
Disability Pride, Joy, and Visions for the Future
Thursday, July 11, 1 – 2pm ET, on Zoom
As part of Disability & Philathropy Forum’s Disability Equity Series, featuring disabled artists Jen White-Johnson and Naomi Ortiz, moderated by Kristy Trautmann. In the face of systemic ableism and intersecting marginalization, many disabled people find pride in disability identity and culture. Within disability communities, disabled people can share creative solutions, offer mutual support, strategize advocacy approaches, and experience immense joy. Join us for a webinar featuring disabled panelists celebrating disability pride, and learn why philanthropy should fund disabled-led, joy-centered spaces.
SICK Magazine Issue 6 Launch Party
Saturday, July 13 , 2 - 5pm ET, in-person in Waterville, Maine
3pm reading & performance featuring Lisa/Liza, Catriona Morton, & Emerson Whitney. Refreshments & desserts, temporary tattoos, zine-making & crafts, and a RAFFLE! Magazines & books will be available to purchase.
Open Studio—Making Ourselves
Saturday, July 13, 2024, 1 - 4pm ET, in-person at The Met Museum (NYC)
Join us for an afternoon of drop-in art making and connection for the disability community inspired by artists of the Harlem Renaissance and today. Experiment with different art materials and techniques, learn from artist demonstrations, visit The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism exhibition, and create your own art in a studio setting.