Abstract
Our project, Phenomenal Bodies, proposes a new model of how we can centre artists and the public within historical collections to expand conversations to include underrepresented voices that speak to the range of lived experience. Our work traces its roots in intellectual questions about the nature of studying the body in Scotland, which has its own unique history as illustrated by the visual materials in institutions of both art and science. Bringing a critical historical perspective on images of the body and disability studies, we situate the academic collections within larger debates about wellbeing and the role of the visual. Enthusiastic meetings with partners have allowed us to create a non-hierarchical network of institutions to build a more community-minded rapport as we develop a multi-year display programme across Scotland. We have connected students, curators, disability and advocacy groups with historical collections. At the core of this project is the common interest in creating a more inclusive curatorial practice that is informed by a larger scope of human experience. As such, we are also developing resources to be shared well beyond our immediate network of Scottish academic institutions with the aim of better serving a collective interest in wellbeing. Inspired by art, we celebrate subjective lived experiences of having a body, understanding it, and the creative responses generated by our physical diversity. This approach can offer a powerful model of how to situate the experience of disability within a more accessible, inclusive, and participatory display practice.
Presenters
Emily HansonPostdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Art History, School of Art History, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Community, Curating, Disability, Pedagogy
