VSA arts of NM Discussion
VSA arts of NM Discussion
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Opening Doors: Uncovering and Discovering Disability Culture A collaborative project of VSA arts of New Mexico and the Institute on Disability Culture. Funded by the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities "The existence of a disability culture is a relatively new and contested idea. Not surprising, perhaps, for a group that has long been described with terms like "in-valid," "impaired," "limited," "crippled," and so forth. Scholars would be hard-pressed to discover terms of hope, endearment or ability associated with people with disabilities." (Steve Brown, 1992, from Investigating a Culture of Disability) "Is there a culture of disability? … The
question is neither easy nor trivial… Since the term "culture"
comes from the discipline of anthropology, it is important to examine its
use by anthropologists. When that is done one finds that it is a term more
used than defined… Most anthropologists, however, agree that culture
refers to beliefs, value systems, and behavioral norms conveyed over time
through an educational process… In conclusion, when the artifacts, the
mental products, the social organizations, and the coping mechanisms of
disabled persons are brought together, it is seen that this culture is
learned, shared, interrelated, cumulative, and diverse. A culture of
disability does exist."
"With the discovery of the disability movement's history, heroes, humor, music, stereotypes and language, the past twenty years have seen a renaissance for disabled people. These shared experiences comprise elements of a culture. People with disabilities are beginning to recognize that we have a culture -- one that we can be proud of. "People with disabilities have forged a group identity. We generate art, music, literature, and other expressions of our lives and our culture, infused from our experience of disability." Steven E. Brown, 1992, from Investigating a Culture of Disability What do you think? Have you ever thought about going to McDonald's as part of your cultural heritage? Harlan Hahn has. He says for people with mobility disabilities fast food restaurants are a cultural icon. What does he mean by cultural heritage? What's a cultural icon? Do people with disabilities have a cultural heritage? And who is Harlan Hahn? Artisans of all cultures use distinctive symbols in their work. You can look at a cross and say, "that's Ethiopian," or "that's Celtic" simply by observation and knowledge of the traditional design characteristics and symbols used in that cultural work. There are many common symbols, such as the circle or the cross, used uniquely in different cultures. Are there traditional design characteristics that one can point to and say, "that's a disability …" - cross, circle, whatever? Is the wheelchair a disability culture symbol and if so, how does that relate to or for people without mobility issues? Can one look back through history or even across the breadth of current artistic work by artists with disabilities and identify some common symbol or characteristic? If the artistic expression of a people with a common cultural heritage is reflected in their symbols and designs what are the characteristics of disability art? Is there a disability art? And again, is there a disability culture? We invite you to join our exploration of these questions. Share your thoughts - in whatever form works for you - essays, creative prose and poetic responses are all welcome! Click here to post response Through on-line discussion and community writing workshops, project directors Steve Brown and Deborah Mashibini, along with scholars Lillian Gonzales-Brown, Harold Littlebird, Dara McLaughlin, Mary McGinnis, Barbara McKee, and Larry Lorenzo look forward to joining with you in a dynamic discussion and exploration of disability culture. Watch this site later in May for a detailed schedule of upcoming events through October, 2000, including community writing workshops, disability culture forums, and publication of The Enabled Writer, a disability culture journal. Community activities will take place in Albuquerque and Las Cruces. For further information, email us at [email protected], or write: Disability Culture, VSA NM, PO Box 7784, Albuquerque, NM 87194. |