Abstract
The article is devoted to the theoretical study of assistive technologies and practices (i.e. tools designed to support people with disabilities or severe health conditions) as an integral part of many projects in the field of contemporary visual arts (exhibitions, art environments and performances). It is shown that assistive technologies can serve as entry points for different ways of perceiving the world by disabled and non-disabled people. Thus, assistive technologies help create a new space for all audiences, where a meeting with the other can take place without the presumption of a complete understanding of the other. The cultural, ethical and philosophical significance of such spaces (which we conceptualize as situations of the “third experience”) is revealed both by means of specific artistic projects and of the theoretical developments of disability studies: the concept of cripistemology, criticism of the idea of “compulsory able-bodiedness” by Robert McRuer, the idea of “opacity” by Edouard Glissant. The “third experience” is proposed for use as an open concept that does not have a strict definition, but allows one to notice or design such spaces in which differences could be expressed without the risk of being homogenized, and in which the “presumption of opacity” that is so important for equal communication between people with different lived experiences. Such spaces and situations, built in the context of disability culture, can serve a critical function and resist the idea of “compulsory able-bodiedness”. The considerations presented in the article can be of practical value for research and curatorial work not only in the field of inclusion, but also in the field of contemporary art in general.
Published Version
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