The Agency of Access: Contemporary Disability Art and Institutional Critique
This talk is based on Amanda Cachia's forthcoming monograph, The Agency of Access, (Dec 2024, Temple University Press) which examines how access can be employed as a methodology for curating art exhibitions using a multi-sensorial approach. She argues that as contemporary disabled artists move away from representations of disability, they create an art of access, or access aesthetics, through works that center translation, sensory expansion, touch, and movement for audiences and offer an experience of “being with” disability. Showcasing artwork by contemporary disabled artists Corban Walker, Christine Sun Kim, and Carmen Papalia, among others, The Agency of Access inscribes contemporary disability art in the broad canon of contemporary art, where the artistic past is regarded differently. These artists make bold and compelling statements about interdependency, care, and the ways in which our environment affects disabled, ill, and immunocompromised bodies.
The talk is co-sponsored by the English Department and ICLS.
The organizers of this talk are committed to accessibility and inclusivity. If you require disability accommodations, please contact Rachel Adams by Friday, October 11. A map of campus accessibility can be found at https://visit.columbia.edu/content/maps-and-directions-update.
