A Series of Events for International Day of Persons with Disabilities at Harvard

The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed in 1992, by the United Nations. We propose these series of events including a symposium, workshops, art installations, and a class curriculum, which are designed to highlight disability as identity, culture, and an opportunity for innovation.  This project was created by (snobs._), in collaboration with Elizabeth Epsen, Lead Administrator for the Office for the Arts at Harvard Dance Program. For the past 5 years, OFA Dance Program has participated as an ambassador of ON DISPLAY GLOBAL, a worldwide movement installation created by physically-integrated dance company Heidi Latsky Dance, performed every year by communities around the world on December 3, commemorating the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Early in the Fall 2022 semester, (snobs._) initiated discussions with Elizabeth, leading to a natural collaboration to curate a series of events centered around ON DISPLAY HARVARD. Our past partners in 2022 have included, Hannah Wong, co-chair and co-founder of design.able, a student-led organization at the Graduate School of Design. We also have partnered with organizations from the larger Harvard community and beyond including Master in Design Studies students at GSD, Harvard Undergraduate Disability Justice Club, Cambridge Common Voices, Memorial Hall Complex, the Mind Project, and Heidi Latsky Dance, the creator of ON DISPLAY GLOBAL. We aim to raise awareness of disability experiences, identity, and culture, through art and design, fostering conversations and engagement within our student, staff, and faculty community. This project believes collaboration is key in strengthening our community and building towards the future.

This year, we aim to host a series of collaborative events to foster a network of engagements. Our plans include a symposium hosted by design.able, a class curriculum featuring workshops, a public art installation, and the ON DISPLAY HARVARD movement installation. These events will highlight the power dynamics associated with disabilities and challenge societal categorizations that limit inclusivity. We advocate for a new enframing that embraces difference as an affirmation of our humanity, and rejects the notion of "otherness." Our goal is to spark conversations and encourage art and design students at Harvard to use their skills to wrestle with issues of access and inclusive design. Our goal is to develop a curriculum for an architectural design class and workshop series for Fall 2023, collaborating with partners and incorporating compelling programming. We will also explore the creation of wearables for ON DISPLAY HARVARD and potentially expand to larger-scale design considerations for a Disability Cultural Center at Harvard.

In December 2022, we tested these ideas through a 4-day series of events where we engaged in conversations around the topic of disability, dance, and design. Design.able, a student organization at the GSD commenced this celebration on December 1 with a panel discussion titled “The Art of a Movement: Disability, Dance, and Dynamism in Practice.” The morning of Saturday, December 3 was the main event inside the transept space in Memorial Hall where Harvard Dance Center presented ON DISPLAY HARVARD 2022. ON DISPLAY challenges notions of normativity; prompts reflections on the viewer/viewed relationship; and subverts objectification by giving power and agency to the performer .This was achieved with an open call for everyone who is willing, and previous dance training or experience was not a requirement. The Harvard Dance Center leads a workshop on the structured improvisational score developed by choreographer Heidi Latsky which is planned to be incorporated into the EDE classroom curriculum, to encourage the involvement of  undergraduates in the installation.

On each night of the 4-day event, Oblique Obstruction, a public interactive installation that reframes the dynamic between the viewer/ viewed relationship was itself also on display under the the Kenzo Tange Pavilion at the GSD.A few months after the celebration, we had an event titled “Reflections.” The evening invited the community partners, collaborators, and artists involved for a conversation and critical response. The aim was to create a productive feedback loop for improvement and growth moving forward. By implementing layers of access including live captions and audio description, and ASL interpretation, we hope to promote inclusive standards and normalize access at all events. This is essential to our design practice at the GSD, as we aim to create inclusive environments and spaces. The Culture Lab Innovative Fund provides an opportunity to shift the perception of disabilities and break away from traditional notions of function and access. Embracing cultural innovation is crucial for fostering and creatively building a more inclusive society. Long term, We envision Beyond Access: A Series of Events for International Day of Persons with Disabilities at Harvard as a series of workshops, talks, and art prompting robust and nuanced conversations around disability– and an annual platform that can becomes an essential part of the fabric of Harvard University. We hope it may lead to greater understanding and motivation towards access in laying  the groundwork  for establishing a Disability Cultural Center at Harvard in the future.

Harmonious Disarray