Journal

Access Landing Page for “Undue Burden”

Posted:
October 15, 2024
Topic(s):
Education & Outreach
A picture of a collage of various artworks by Vinetta Miller. The background is purple. From top left: an orange and white fish with white and blue on its fins. The fish is blowing blue bubbles. Next to the drawing of the fish is a photograph of Vinetta’s black and white cat, Benjamin, seen here from behind as he relaxes in the “loaf” position. Next to the cat is a piece of art that looks like a person on their side, with pink skin, purple pants, and orange hair. In the next row of art, directly underneath is a Black person with yellow hair, blue eyes, red lips, and light purple clothing. To the right is a photograph of a tote bag with a diamond-shaped image in abstract green and blue coloring. Next to that is a portrait of a person with brown skin and grey hair and clothing on a pink background. The final piece in this row is a tiny picture of a tote bag with yellow dots around a painting of two people dressed in semi-formal attire. In the final row of the collage is another picture of Benjamin, Vinetta’s cat, this time from the front. Next to Benjamin is a cranberry-colored shirt with a drawing of a person’s head and hair in a type of bleached white. Finally, in the center of the picture is a bunch of baby photos of Vinetta, in sepia-tone, black and white, and color.

ACCESS LANDING PAGE

By Hook&Loop, for the “Undue Burden” residency

We wrote the Access Artistry Manifesto to name our intentions and grounding philosophy around accessibility [read here]. It is incomplete, imperfect, and in process, just like us, and aims to present accessibility as art rather than as a rote, legalistic task as it is often considered in art and cultural spaces. We consider accessibility as art and access labor as work. Below, we have listed some structures we’ve put into place to guide us through practicing radical accessibility in this residency.

Description of Residency and Installations

Hook&Loop’s digital archive project UNDUE BURDEN is in residence at the Painted Bride in from October to November 2024 with the installation of a “living archive” and five sensorial programs inviting the public to expand and engage with our living archive. The living virtual archive installation incorporates entries from the archive (images of people performing, art objects, and poetry) printed on large loops of fabric and hung from hanging rods. The people who interact with the archive can pull it downwards toward them so that it slides in a loop and can be viewed in that way. The fabric is peppered with QR codes that reveal an audio description and archive notes about each image. Multiple access installations are set up across the space to invite in the fullness of sick, Mad, and disabled embodied experience including a cozy library with hand-made soft cushions, quilts, and rugs created by collective members, a low-stim lounge with sensory tools and low lighting, a space for naming and expressing disability rage, and an access altar to honor our disabled ancestors and reclaim spirituality. The events incorporate poetry, music, dance, a touch-based gallery, and an ILL-legal wedding party, each encouraging immersion, artistic collaboration, interdisciplinarity, audience engagement, and the valuation of sick, Mad, neurodivergent, and disabled art-making beyond nondisabled aesthetic constraints.

Please see each event’s programming page for the most detailed access information, including timing for ASL interpretation, captions, and virtual access. Reach out as soon ahead of time as possible with access needs we have not already addressed and we will do our best to respond to them.

Economic access

Tickets are available at a sliding scale and no one is turned away for lack of funds.

Physical building information

Parking
Abundant parking is available along Market Street, in front of the Bride (5212 Market St, 19139).

Wheelchair Access

Curb cuts are located along S. 53rd St for wheelchair loading.

Public Transit

The Bride is located next to multiple public transit stops.

  • Market Frankford Line (L): 52nd Street stop
  • 52 bus: Market & 52nd Street stop
  • 31 bus: Market & 52nd Street stop

Amenities
Service Animals
Service animals are welcome throughout the space.

Restroom
A wheelchair accessible restroom is located on the 1st floor, through the doorway at the back of the space.

Seating
Wide, cushioned chairs are available throughout the space, and can be requested from staff on-site.

Elevators
There are no elevators or stairs; all public spaces in the Bride are on the 1st floor and wheelchair accessible.

Revised COVID-19 Policy for Undue Burden events

Members of our community are high risk and severely immunocompromised. It is our collective responsibility to take care of each other. Please follow the guidelines below to keep our community safe. 

  • High quality (KN95 or better), well-fitting masks must be worn at all times and are required to enter the venue. Masks will be provided for those who need them.
  • Proof of day-of-event negative tests are required at the door. Rapid antigen tests will be provided at the door for those who need them.
  • For those who can’t wear masks, proof of a day-of-event negative rapid antigen test is required.
  • If you test positive for COVID-19, please do not attend. If you have recently been sick with COVID-19, proof of two negative rapid antigen tests taken 48 hours apart is required.
  • Please do not attend if you have symptoms of any illness.
  • Eating and drinking must be done outside the venue.
  • All events will utilize HEPA filtration.
  • If you have questions or need more information, please reach out to hookandloopphl@gmail.com.

Other access notes

  • Support people and caretakers are welcome at this event and invited to attend at no additional cost.
  • If you’d like to request a mobility device for this event, please contact our friends at TechOWL to request a free device for the event. You can contact them at the email address Techowl@temple.edu or use the toll-free number (800-204-7428).
  • We aim to maintain a fragrance-free space to protect those in our community who are chemically sensitive. We ask that you avoid wearing scented products to the space and wash with fragrance-free soaps and products for 24 hours before the event. Please see this guide for more information: https://csw.ucla.edu/toolkit#toggle-id-2.
  • Access point people will be available at each event for questions and emergent issues.
  • If you are questioning whether you are disabled enough, this space is for you. If you are a nondisabled accomplice, this space is for you. This space centers sick, MAD, neurodivergent, and Disabled community members, and we also understand that these identities and experiences may overlap with other forms of systemic oppression and otherness, that some identities might resonate while others might not. We will not police your identity, but rather we create space for exploring these forms of identity and the creative potential of disability art-making. You are welcome here in all your questions and complexities.

Access for Undue Burden was developed with the support of and in consultation with Anya Gholson, Alanna Raffel, Akili Davis, and Octavia Rose Hingle and was informed by the work of I Wanna Be With You Everywhere, Alice Wong and the Disability Visibility Project, Sins Invalid, BlackStar, Alison Kopit, Kinetic Light, TechOWL, and Madison Zalopany. UNDUE BURDEN came into being and continues to grow through our expanding network of Sick, Disabled, MAD, and neurodivergent people with diverse experiences and stories.

We are grateful for the wisdom this community offers to us and for the education the leaders of Disability Justice generously share. We are grateful to be in community with disabled elders, comrades, young people, and nondisabled accomplices and to have the opportunity to build radically accessible spaces for us all. We are extremely grateful for our many care workers whose facilitation and support are invaluable. Endless thanks to the community of Sick, Disabled, MAD and neurodivergent people and nondisabled accomplices who have collaborated with us on this project: performed, donated to the archive, attended a Zoom meeting, or offered advice, a ride, or emotional support.