Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, the 9th anniversary of a campaign launched by the 92nd Street Y. If you want to take this as a chance to think about the relationship between disability and charity, I have 2 recommendations for you:
Telethons: Spectacle, Disability, and the Business of Charity by Paul Longmore is an excellent study of the way disability has been instrumentalized in media rituals of donation, volunteerism, and corporate “social responsibility.”
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence is a fantastic collection of essays that asks us to consider why activist work needs to be so deeply tied to fundraising in the first place.
You might also take a moment to look at the Accelerating Charitable Efforts (ACE) Act that was introduced in the Senate over the summer. The legislation seeks to regulate the troubling growth of “donor-advised funds” that allow the wealthy to avoid tax liability without setting up their own private foundations.
Today is the 46th birthday of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It was signed into law as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 and renamed in 1990. This landmark law has been central in protecting access to education, requiring schools to develop IEPs for disabled students and driving the introduction of early intervention services. And we have more to do, like making sure arts education does not fall out of a student’s IEP when administrators assume there are no clearly measurable outcomes.
Some political news:
The Build Back Better Bill that could bring major changes in disability policy is being passed through a federal budget reconciliation process, which means it is now facing looming deadlines for government funding.
For the first time, retailers in the drug industry were held responsible in the crisis of opioid overdoses and deaths. In the spring, a judge will determine how much CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens will pay to the Ohio counties that brought the suit.
And some art news:
NowThis and Discovery+ continue featuring major faves in their SEEN series with Kayla Hamilton.
The Peppa Pig Theme Park under construction in Florida has announced it will feature several wheelchair-accessible rides and open as a Certified Autism Center.
Designers, planners, and architects are wondering what a public Department of Care could do for our worlds.
TheatreArtLife reports on its Accessibility in Theatre programming and study series.
Some calls:
The deadline to apply for the The Anderson Center’s Deaf Artists Residency Program is January 15, 2022.
Being Studio is hiring a Communications Assistant.
The Holding Space Archive is seeking Bed Portraits in its first open call.
RespectAbility is accepting applications for its Civic Engagement Apprenticeship
The Disability History Association is seeking nominations for its publication awards.
The Center for Artistic Activism is looking for Workshop Leaders.
Finally, this week’s events:
Tonight, Monday Nov. 29th from 5-7pm on Zoom Kinetic Light/Disability Dance Works is hosting a LAB hangout & workshare. LAB is an online space for disabled artists to connect and chill with an option to share work, ideas, or questions. CART, ASL, and AD. No cost. For more information or to be added to LAB’s mailing list, contact Associate Producer Morgaine DeLeonardis at morgaine@kineticlight.org.
On Tuesday, Nov. 30th at 1:30pm ET, the Washington Post in partnership with the Ford Foundation will present Disability in America with Sinéad Burke, Jeffrey Mansfield, and Wesley Hamilton. ASL and captions. More information here.
This week Visual AIDS presents its annual Day With(out) Art: Enduring Care, with screenings around the U.S. More details here.
The Museum of Craft and Design, the Longmore Institute on Disability, and the Palo Alto Art Center will present Cripping Your Fashion: A DIY Interactive Workshop, facilitated by Sky Cubacub in conjunction with the current Bay Area exhibitions, Mode Brut and The Art of Disability Culture on Friday, Dec. 3rd at 4pm ET on Zoom. ASL, CC, and AD. No cost. Register here.
The next event in the Disability & International Summit 2021 is Co-constructing a Zine Team in a Time of Uncertainty. It will take place on Thursday, Dec. 2nd at 4pm ET on Zoom. ASL, CART, and Spanish interpretation. No cost. Register here.
NYC Metro RID will host Understanding Racism and Intersectionality Within the Interpreting Field by Mary Harman and Carla Shird, co-sponsored by NYCBDA on Sunday, Dec. 5th from 10am-2pm ET on Zoom in ASL. $40/$60. Register here.
Heidi Latsky Dance will host a 24-hour Zoom performance of ON DISPLAY GLOBAL on Friday, Dec. 3rd to honor the United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities. More info here.
Also honoring the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in partnership with Accessible Arts will offer ArtScreen 2021, a video art showcase on Thursday, Dec. 2nd and Saturday, Dec. 4th. More info here.