Sanctuary and Revolution: Reaching Toward Disability Justice in Cultural Spaces

Access is at the heart of cultural work. The goal of this dissertation is to urge cultural workers to realistically and sustainably integrate a Disability Justice paradigm into their spheres of influence. Throughout the piece, I explore the ways that inaccessibility, ableism, and other forms of oppression are present in cultural spaces, while also critiquing the current ways cultural spaces ineffectively attempt to remedy these exclusions. The liberal inclusion approach they often take up, I argue, focuses on sameness, privileges the dominant group, and approaches inclusion at the individual level. Thus, these approaches are insufficient because they do not address the structural underpinnings of oppression. Instead, I call for a full paradigm shift wherein cultural spaces align themselves with the principles of Disability Justice, a dynamic and intersectional way of conceptualizing relationship, care, access at the structural level. While a Disability Justice practice may not be fully possible within each cultural space, I argue that it is vital for cultural spaces to take responsibility for critically considering the exclusionary structures in their current systems. I push cultural workers to orient toward Disability Justice in order to grow, avoid future harm, and perceive new possibility. Focusing on cultural spaces such as the Great Lakes Area Contact Improvisation Enthusiasts’ Retreat (GLACIER) community, the genre of outsider art, and Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, I explore the role that time plays in each context, arguing that approaching time in non-linear ways is a critical component of a Disability Justice-based framework. How can understanding time non-linearly reduce ableism and ageism and bring us closer to liberation? What happens when we resist the capitalist focus on productivity and strict timelines and instead bring about change gradually and sustainably? How might adopting a “time travel state of mind” bring freedom and abundance to our cultural spaces? How might questioning normative benchmarks, expectations, and pacing open possibilities for new ways of being? Using a Midwest contact improvisation annual event as a laboratory, I explore techniques of integrating Disability Justice principles and access in practice. Throughout the dissertation, I frame Disability Justice as a world-building practice and a future to reach for, while also recognizing the artists and activists who are already realizing this vision and guiding other cultural workers to do the same. I gesture toward current Disability Justice projects and practices as proof of what is possible and invite cultural workers to learn from these models to expand their imaginations and commitments to justice.