Disability Pride Is Back!
The Story of the Disability Pride Mural in Footscray (the First of Its Kind in Australia), of Its Accidental Removal a Week Later and Its Reinstatement In 2018
Description:... 'Disability Pride is Back!' is an essay which documents the Disability Pride Mural (the first of its kind in Australia), of its accidental removal a week later and its re-instatement in 2018. We explore the purpose of the mural, as well as how the art creates a public space for telling others about the disability pride movement, and of diverse experiences of disability. The Disability Pride Mural is a celebration of disability culture and of the power in identifying as disabled. The mural also raises issues around the social model of disability and ableism - through its visual content, but also through how its place in public space has had to be negotiated.By being an artwork on the street, the Disability Pride Mural is 'an argument about visuality, the social and political structure of being visible' (Irvine 2012, p. 4). The mural participates in the politics of public space and of public art - both of which inherently invoke issues of equity, accessibility, visibility, democracy and participation. The mural is a paste-up, and its ephemeral status facilitates a more accessible place for speaking both politically and frankly. But what power does an instance of temporary public art have to effect social understanding?The essay was developed through conversations and interviews with Larissa Mac Farlane and a review of literature, as well as a conference presentation and ensuing discussion with the audience of that presentation. The book also includes photographs of the mural.
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