Amplified Voices
April - July 2023
Italian Cultural Centre
Summary
Amplified Voices celebrates the creativity and raw storytelling told by our artists living with disabilities. By questioning the limits to space made for Disability culture, this exhibition navigates the stigma and barriers many artists face. These works challenge conventional ideas and transform traditional art practices into one that is humane, therapeutic, and liberating.
Featuring individual artists: Clyde Richard Brittain, David Purkis, Ivy Hazard, Johnny Tai, Kevo, Kiala Loytomaki, Mehboob Rajwani, Olivia Dreisinger, Tuyết Ánh Judith Nguyễn, and Warren Zeer.
Featuring collective artists: Artists Helping Artists with Diana Nguyen, Derek McElheron, Rosie Lam, and Malcom O’Neill; PotteryWorks and The Colour Collective with Dan Tell, James Lash, Linda Raudonus, and Robert Bell; Aspire Richmond with Abigayle Vallance and Melody Lorna Edgars; and Studio Seventy Three with Carrie Billow, Mridu Sood, and Stephanie Davison.
Partner Organization: Artists Helping Artists
Curator: Shanna Cheng
Curatorial Statement
Public art spaces have always been a home of innovation, creativity, and breaking through the conventional. However, individuals living with a disability are often not included. Whether it be from societal stigmas, financial and attitudinal barriers or lack of accessible spaces, artists living with disabilities have always been challenged by conventional and ablelist methods of creating and showcasing their work.
In the Amplified Voices exhibition, these creators redraw the boundary of their role as artists. This celebration of Disability Culture showcases the works of 23 artists who transform lived experiences by embracing their inner voice, individuality and being. In advocating for better representation and involvement, each piece takes on a different tone. This series of artworks mirror the voices of healing, sharing, and connecting. By combining conventional and non-traditional methods of exhibition processes, Amplified Voices serve as a celebration and liberation in raw storytelling through Disability arts.
Through film, glasswork, mixed media, painting, print media, sculpture, textiles, and many more, this exhibition centers around their journey of visibility and taking control of the narrative. The artists represented within this exhibition all share the belief that art is for everyone, art is connection, and art is healing.
Read my Catalogue HERE.
Photograph Credit: Andres Zapata and Shanna Cheng
Left to Right: David Purkis Abstract in Black, 2019 Olivia Dreisinger disabled!, 2017 Ivy Hazard Tired Tired Tired, 2022 Death Trench, 2022 Robert Bell, PotteryWorks - The Colour Collective Emerging, 2023
Left to Right: Ivy Hazard Tired Tired Tired, 2022 Death Trench, 2022 Linda Raudonus, PotteryWorks - The Colour Collective Abstract Turquoise, 2022 Rosie Lam, Artists Helping Artists Sauveuse Des Anges, 2022 Warren Zeer What Charlie Parker Taught Me, 2017
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Left to Right: Clyde Richard Brittain Ashplant I, 2019 Kiala Loytomaki Mangia il Dolore, 2023 Johnny Tai Aslan's First Hunt, 2023 Clyde Richard Brittain Ashplant II, 2023
Left to Right: Clyde Richard Brittain Ashplant I, 2019 Kiala Loytomaki Mangia il Dolore, 2023 David Purkis Abstract in Black, 2019
Left to Right: Tuyết Ánh Judith Nguyễn Favourite Coping Mechanism, 2016 Derek McElheron, Artists Helping Artists The Girl, 2019 Clyde Richard Brittain Ashplant I, 2019 Kiala Loytomaki Mangia il Dolore, 2023 David Purkis Abstract in Black, 2019
Left to Right: Robert Bell, PotteryWorks - The Colour Collective Summer Lane, 2020 Linda Raudonus, PotteryWorks - The Colour Collective Abstract Turquoise, 2022 Rosie Lam, Artists Helping Artists Sauveuse Des Anges, 2022 Warren Zeer What Charlie Parker Taught Me, 2017 James Lash, PotteryWorks - The Colour Collective Green Lake Timbers, 2020
