August 23, 2020

Art & Disability: Virtual Exhibition & Forum

Inclusivity is about unity in diversity, and today's conference drew people together from across the globe to celebrate just that.

My heart is full as I write this.

By the end of today's conference, there'd been such an outpouring of encouragement and goodwill in support of disabled artists; I'd heard such powerful testimonies from parents of special needs artists and learned about such wonderful initiatives going on around the world that I really felt hopeful that our world is ready to move towards becoming a more inclusive place.

Here is a full recording of the event:

Inclusive Fashion - Aestheletic x Special Artists

Today's conference began with my sharing about the problem fine art being too exclusive discipline, and about the need to make art accessible to all.

"Art is not a luxury for the few but a basic right for all"

At Aestheletic, our goal is to make fine art available for all in the form of wearable art. So with this expertise, we've partnered with special needs artists in an upcoming 'Inclusive Fashion' range which will be ready by Christmas.

100% of the profits will go to supporting special needs artists.

Exhibit of artwork by special needs artists - Amos Manlangit

Amos Manlangit is a Fine Arts lecturer at the University of Philippines and also special needs educator and advocate for disability rights.

During this sharing, he spoke about how art can be a tool for empowerment, and he shared about some of the art programmes that he had used to help special needs individuals to negotiate the difficult experiences during the pandemic.

Inclusive Arts Practice - Professor Alice Fox

Alice Fox is a world pioneer in establishing the discipline of inclusive arts by creating the world's first Masters Degree Programme at the University of Brighton. She is also Deputy Head of its School of Art, and her work with building a more inclusive space for artists has won her the Times Higher Education Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts.

During this presentation, she spoke about the practice of inclusive arts and how to build a more equal and accepting space for all.

professor alice fox brighton university

Testimonies

During this segment, we opened the mic to everyone, and we got to hear parents of special needs children sharing about their struggles and triumphs, their little victories and their joy of seeing their children grow through being given opportunities in the arts. Some opened up about how this pandemic has been especially hard on special needs individuals, and how art has been a medium for helping them to broach difficult conversations.

Inclusive Arts Initiative

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This event has been brought to you by Aestheletic, where we believe in making art available for all.

For more about Amos' work with the inclusive arts, check out our interview with him.

Please also visit the Inclusive Arts Initiative website.