Carmen Papalia and Heather Kai Smith
2019
The three-channel video animation Open Access: Claiming Visibility (2019), offers a non-linear interpretation of “Open Access,” a conceptual framework for accessibility developed by Carmen Papalia, which shapes the soundtrack of the installation. “Open Access” moves beyond a policy or accommodation-based model of accessibility by providing guidelines for person-to-person agreements for support. Building upon these ideas, Heather Kai Smith’s animations engage ideas of mutual support through a careful rendering of archival protest documentation, such as the historic 1977 ‘504 Sit-In’ protest, which intended to force compliance with critical legislation passed during the civil rights movement by disabled people in the United States. Through this collaboration, Papalia and Smith embody a relational approach to mutual care.