Claiming Connection: Cultivating a Relationship with Place as Disabled Artists

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Zoom Meeting ID: 851 8135 8277

ASL/English Interpreters and automated real time captioning provided.

The exhibition Ansel Adams in Our Time focuses on the artist’s relationship with nature and with other artists. Join us remotely as Syren Nagakyrie of Disabled Hikers facilitates a panel discussion between artists Galadriel Mozee, Naomi Ortiz, and Denise Vasquez which will challenge the traditional idea of who can be a landscape artist. The artists will discuss their practices, relationship with nature, experiences in the field of art, and the artists who inspire them.

Syren Nagakyrie (they/them) is an activist, writer, consultant, and outdoor enthusiast. As the founder of Disabled Hikers, they have become a leading advocate and expert voice in making the outdoors more inclusive and accessible for the disabled community and others that are underrepresented.

Galadriel Mozee (they/them) is a Fat Black Stemme. A writer, plant whisperer and artist who walks supported by and in honor of their Wolayta, Gullah, Jamaican, Samoan, Russian and Missourian ancestors. They believe in a benevolent universe that holds them tenderly in the cradle of its heart. Galadriel connects to their center through a strong connection to plant medicine and aims to help other Disabled, Black and Queer people stretch their roots into soil and thrive. Instagram @gold_adjacent_waterfalls

Naomi Ortiz (she/her/ella) Naomi Ortiz is a Poet, Writer, Facilitator, and Visual Artist whose intersectional work focuses on self-care for activists, disability justice, eco-justice, and relationship with place. Ortiz is the author of Sustaining Spirit: Self-Care for Social Justice (Reclamation Press), a book for diverse communities on dealing with the risks of burnout. Her leadership style emphasizes facilitation, inclusion, and spiritual growth. Ortiz is a 2019 Zoeglossia Poetry Fellow whose contributions can be found in numerous publications, including We Are Not Your Metaphor: A Disability Poetry Anthology, The Quarry at Split This Rock, VIDA, as well as shared through event performances around the country. Her artwork has been featured on book covers, in shows, and appears on permanent display at the University of Arizona Disability Cultural Center. Ortiz is a disabled, Mestiza living in the Arizona U.S./Mexico borderlands.

Denise Vasquez (she/her/ella) is a Puerto Rican, Disabled, Published: Travel Photographer, Author, Actress, Artist, Singer, Songwriter, Content Creator, Consultant, Accessibility Advocate, and Founder of The Disabled Photographer Project and How Accessible Is Accessible series.