Artists Creating Access

One of the things I love about my work is that I get to meet all kinds of people and hear about their work. For me it is educational, and it helps me expand my perspective. Recently, I worked with producer Jason Strother on a segment for State of the Arts called “Artists Creating Access.”

The segment is centered around an exhibition at the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick, NJ, called “Smoke & Mirrors.” The exhibition featured work by artists who identify as disabled. And all of the works explore themes of access in the art world. 

For this segment, we interviewed artist Finnegan Shannon and curator Amanda Cachia to better understand why access is an issue in the arts and how artists are creating it through their work. Jason also used some of the audio description at the Zimmerli to help him connect with the art. Jason is low-vision, and has always had challenges viewing art at museums. 

Working on this project was eye-opening and really got me thinking about what it might be like to have a disability in a world that doesn’t often consider you.