Decentering Colonialism and Ableism in Artistic Practices

Abstract

This article introduces the work of five young disabled artists, creative workers, and scholars of color, who the authors invited to be on a panel titled Decentering Colonialism and Ableism in Artistic Practices at the 3rd International Conference on Disability Studies, Arts, and Education. In this article, we focus on three intersecting and interconnected themes that were discussed during the panel: crip time/wisdom, colonialism, and care. The artists work against colonial knowledge through lived experiences and desires that resist ableist, white, and normative structures. The power of artmaking materializes ideas through their bodies, writings, performances, and images through multiple media and technologies that elucidate the disabled bodymind conditions. The authors acknowledge how differently the pandemic allowed care to be offered for disabled, queer, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), particularly considering how black and brown people often provide the networks of care. We argue that the intersecting themes of crip time, colonialism, and care are significant for human ethical values and social justice.