Dis/Rep
Disability/Representation (Dis/Rep) was originally a collaborative offering by the Disability Arts and Culture Project, Portland Community College, and Portland State University.
As of 2021, it is a fiscally sponsored project of the Curiosity Paradox available thanks to a grant from the City of Portland Office of Community and Civic Life.
It was initially imagined as response to a need communicated by DACP members, & an answer to broader issues of ableism & community. DACP conducted a listening session & online survey to seek feedback from our community about DACP projects; both Disabled and nondisabled people showed strong interest in an introduction to disability justice and in a reading group on Disability Studies in particular. Our first year was supported by a grant from Oregon Humanities and our partners. The readings from the first year are located in the archives.
It feels important to share some audio and transcript from a Dis/Rep with Immigrant and Refugee communities.
Portland Immigrant and Refugees with disabilities, panelists Saara Hirsi and Abdi Mohamed, led our November Dis/Representation: Evolving Disability Conversations discussion. They addressed systemic issues of Isolation, Employment, and Education faced by refugees with disabilities.
Dis/Representation was made possible through a grant from the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition and the Oregon Cultural Trust, and our partnership with Portland Community College Disability Services.
REAL
Reject Economic Ableist Limits (REAL) sought to build economic opportunities by addressing systemic barriers to employment, fostering cross-disability leadership, and building partnerships to address economic injustice. REAL prioritized voices of disabled people with multiple identities, who experience the brunt of such injustice.
REAL incorporated a Disability Culture and Justice Leadership Institute, which was a site of both enrichment and harm to individuals and community. As of 2021, we are responding to this harm with the creation of healing circles which will be a storytelling space, an imagining of what DACP could be, and a place where reparations are designed.
Portland ReelAbilities
The Portland ReelAbilities Film Festival was a partnership between DACP and national film festival ReelAbilities. ReelAbilities is dedicated to sharing the stories, lives and art of people with disabilities. It consists of award-winning films of the highest cinematic and artistic quality and is hosted in cities across the country.
Unlike other film festivals, all our films were captioned, and we provided audio description and ASL interpreters at film showings.
Portland ReelAbilities was made possible by the Collins Foundation, The Oregon Community Foundation, and Regional Arts and Culture Council.