Alternative Access: Description, Care, and Empathy in the Work of Andy Slater and Carmen Papalia

This project considers a common trait of contemporary disability art: using accessibility aids, such as captions, descriptions, canes, or even support from other people, as a meaningful part of artwork, instead of as a last-minute addition to make art accessible to disabled viewers. To do so, this project explores the work of two disabled artists, sound artist Andy Slater and performance artist Carmen Papalia. Focusing on Slater’s Invisible Ink series and Papalia’s Mobility Device and Blind Field Shuttle performances, I investigate how Slater and Papalia critique conventional models of institutional access and work towards a Disability Justice concept of “just care.”