Pride Amplified Artist Talkback Viewing Guide

Our Pride Amplified showcase on October 11th was an incredible celebration of talent by disabled artists and performers. If you missed it, don’t worry! You can catch the pre-show and showcase on YouTube anytime. Plus, we created a Viewing Guide for you in a recent post. 

After the show, our performers joined us for an exclusive talkback session with audience members to share more about their work both with their art and their activism. The discussion explored a range of topics, from combating ableism, to intersectionality, to advocating for accessibility, and so much in between. It was our honor to provide a platform for these artists to share their stories and their wisdom with our audience.

Check out the viewing guide below so you don’t miss any of the incredible moments from this talkback session, and be sure to let us know what you learned in the comments.

Viewing Guide

3:38: I asked Lachi to talk about her work with an organization called Respectability, which “fights stigmas and advances opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.”

5:21: Maysoon Zayid made a commitment to herself to eliminate offensive language from her sets after receiving some feedback from an audience member, and this includes ableist language. Learn about Maysoon’s creative process and how she’s using her creativity to ensure her sets do less harm. 

9:10: Tina McKee, artist for Passion Works Studios in Ohio, shares her advice for aspiring artists and what inspires her as she creates.

10:07: Gabriel, who performs under the stage name Freaque, shares about his experience with learning how to interact with his limitations post-injury. He candidly gives us a glimpse into the ways he’s evolved as an artist.

14:25: Next I asked our headlining artist, winner of the 2016 NPR Tiny Desk Contest, Gaelynn Lea about her commitment to performing only in accessible venues and how that has impacted both her as an artist. This led to a fascinating discussion between the performers about similar experiences with accessibility challenges and how, as disabled performers, they advocate for accessibility both for themselves and their audiences.  

25:42: To wrap up the talkback, I asked the performers to share about their experiences with representation of disabled folx in the media, and any roadblocks they’ve encountered with working toward their goal of increasing the representation of people with disabilities in media.