Disability, Dis(sensual)Art, and the Politics of Participation
In: Disability and Dissensus: Strategies of Disability Representation and Inclusion in Contemporary CultureSearch for other papers by Maciej Wieczorek in
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Search for other papers by Katarzyna Ojrzyńska in
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Abstract
The chapter returns to the notion of dissensus that has been discussed throughout the book and examines it in relation to the politics of participation and to what the authors describe as Dis(sensual)Art, reclaiming or cripping the somewhat stigmatizing label that has been applied to the artworks created by people with disabilities. It opens with a discussion of the recent disability protests in Poland and their media coverage. They argue that in order to create space for truly egalitarian politics of participation, communal actions are required on many levels and in various spheres of life. The chapter thus stresses the need for a productive cooperation between the academics, political activists, and artists. This is largely discussed in the context of Edward Soja’s concept of Thirdspace, and the authors argue that each of these areas has the power to create a space which unsettles the conventional, binary ways of thinking about disability. The chapter also brings together the other texts included in the volume and summarizes them to show how they contribute to the creation of a dissensual Thirdspace located at the intersection of art, activism, and academic work.