It's a busy Disability Pride Month in New York, and it's only halfway through. Niagara Falls celebrated with a parking lot party on Friday. On Sunday, New York City residents enjoyed the Disability Unite Festival in Central Park. And today in Albany, a celebration will bring together activists from across the state. But in Buffalo, there's an any-time-you-want opportunity to see a one-of-a-kind exhibition.
TRANSCRIPT
Emyle Watkins: Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins, and this is The Disabilities Beat. It's a busy Disability Pride Month in New York, and it's only halfway through. Niagara Falls celebrated with a parking lot party on Friday. On Sunday, New York City residents enjoyed the Disability Unite Festival in Central Park. And today in Albany, a celebration will bring together activists from across the state. But in Buffalo, there's an any-time-you-want opportunity to see a one-of-a-kind exhibition.
Emyle Watkins [on tape]: Do you think disability gets a negative rap?
Paul Chandler: Oh, Lord, does it ever?
Emyle Watkins: Paul Chandler is a fiber artist who is featured in the Buffalo AKG Art Museum's ongoing exhibition, Made at the Museum, which opened June 6th.
Paul Chandler: The goal of this is to teach people that we are not just objects. People with disabilities are people first and foremost, and they have abilities. They're just different than others.
Emyle Watkins: Chandler is involved in Stitch Buffalo, as well as Starlight Studio and Art Gallery, an artist development day program for adults with disabilities. Starlight is one of the partners of this exhibition, which includes about 400 pieces of art from local disabled artists. All of the show's work was either inspired by or made in the museum, as local artists from partner organizations spent several weeks visiting, learning, and creating at the museum.
Paul Chandler: I am really excited. This is the first time I've ever had my work displayed here. I've had it displayed at Starlight, but this is the very first time I've actually had my work displayed here at AKG.
Emyle Watkins: The exhibition celebrates over 50 years of accessible arts programming at the AKG. While not that far in the past, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum was ahead of its time when it launched its first accessible arts program, Matter at Hand, in 1973.
At the same time in the '70s, the country was beginning to deinstitutionalize disabled people and move more people into living in their communities. It was a moment where public life had to change, and while the AKG embraced making exhibitions accessible to people with low vision through Matter at Hand, other places were not yet embracing accessibility. Disabled people were only beginning to get their rights in the US.
In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act would pass, and after much fight from disabled people for its enforcement would lead to some protections for disabled people in federally funded places. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides protections in businesses and other public spaces, wouldn't be passed for almost another 20 years.
Karen Duval: It's very unusual for an art museum in the United States to have specialized programming as one of the mainstays of the education department and have a staff position dedicated to it.
Emyle Watkins: Karen Duval is now the AKG's Manager of Access and Studio Programs.
Karen Duval: So I would say that the Buffalo AKG Art Museum has been a pioneer, a little, in that field and for this period of time.
Emyle Watkins: Now, decades later, Chandler is embracing the same vision Matter at Hand took to making art accessible through his fiber work.
Paul Chandler: I do beadings, necklaces, stitching. A lot of the stuff I do is actually hand-sewn. It's geared for people with sensory issues who are autistic or visually impaired, things of that nature.
Emyle Watkins [asking Paul]: Why is it important to create art that people can feel?
Paul Chandler: Well, because not everyone can see. There are people who do have visual impairments. There are also people who are neurodivergent, who are on the spectrum, and it can be quite different for them. Everybody on the spectrum is different. And they can understand and they can interact more when you actually use that kind of art.
Emyle Watkins: The show runs until October 20th and is completely free to view. But if you're looking for a way to understand disability pride deeper, this is one place to go this July.
Paul Chandler: I would have to say you could describe me as someone with a disability who's very outspoken, who likes to show who I am. And I'm proud of being dyslexic. You want to see some pride? There's pride in that. I take pride in what I can do.
Emyle Watkins: You can listen to the Disabilities Beat segment on demand, view a transcript and plain language description for every episode on our website at dtpm.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
