Jump to: Ashanti Fortson, Basil Wright, Caffeyne Luv, David Player, Dyshaunn Simmons, Felicia F. Clark, Jerome L. Glenn, Josiah Oyawale, Kaya, Kiah Garnet, Kosmo Parker, Dr. Marcia Denis, Mary Russell, Matt Maxey, Michael Ward, Mwatuangi, Nychelle Paige, Rif Mincie, Shawn Bethea, Sunny Brettman, Tahnee Jones, Takeela (Kiki) Traner, Taylor Goethe, Tiffany Lee, T. S. Banks, and Vicente Valentino.
Dyshaunn Simmons
As a person with Autism, Dyshaunn has a unique perspective of the world he captures with his art. When asked whether he understood what autism was, he responded “Yes, Autism means HAPPY!”
We hope that through his art, you can see and feel his infectious joy.
Felicia F. Clark
Felicia F. Clark is an award-winning writer, four-time published author, and professional speaker. Who also happens to have grown up, and still living, with the debilitating neurological disorder, "Myasthenia Gravis".
As a teen, her poem, "Springtime In June", was published in "Echoes of Yesterday, The National Library of Poetry". She is the recipient of two "Young Author" awards from the city of Chicago. As an adult, she has written articles for Isthmus, Madison 365, UMOJA, The SistaGurl Blog, and Sheen Magazine. Felicia F. Clark has co-authored "Women Thriving Fearlessly: Volume 2" and "WTF: Mother's Edition". She is the author of, "Forgive Yourself, Felicia..."
She is a professional speaker on topics ranging from growing up with a terminal illness, bullying, suicide, living with Myasthenia Gravis, single parenting, domestic abuse, sexual assault, and raising a child that is developmentally challenged.
You can watch a video bio of Felicia here!
Kiah Garnet
I'm queer, trans, autistic, and use canes and a wheelchair. My visual art right now is primarily coloring and spray painting. My storytelling artform is more collaborative and interactive, running tabletop roleplaying games to talk about societal issues like racism, ableism and other types of oppression. As well as envisioning futures together where we can all grow into our best selves.
Primarily however, I would say the art I bring to people is the art of tarot. I am a witch, following my Jamaican family tradition. A mix of hoodoo and other closed practices. I see tarot as a writing prompt for self reflection. It helps me work through my thoughts and feelings, and I offer this service to the community.
If you want to get in touch with Kiah, you can do so via their art page on Facebook, Garnet's Arts and Witchcraft!
Jerome L. Glenn
Born in 1951 in Montgomery, Alabama, served in the Military during Vietnam War, worked as MS Criminal Justice/Corrections Chicago Illinois Probation and Parole Adult Supervision in Michigan and Wisconsin. Recently won the 2020 Creative Power Award from ARTS for ALL Wisconsin for my work entitled "Guys and Dolls Meeting up in the Attic Room!!" and previously won this award in 2014.
Inspired by famous masters of painting, Jerome Glenn has a passion for a variety of art styles, ranging from abstract to impressionist, from Kandinsky to Seurat, Picasso to Warhol. Music, literature, nature and his own life experience are among many sources for Jerome's exploration on canvas. Glenn strives to communicate through his art and has developed a style he calls "a posed moment" composed of a silhouette of features and images, in abstract form. In his recent Earth Stain art series, he sets challenges for himself by creating a stain of red paint on the blank canvas as a jumping off point for creation in the series. Jerome's use of a warm, bright palette in his paintings are a celebration even when the subject, in contrast, may be dark, challenging or difficult. In the work entitled, "Tears of a River of Blood in also a Segregationist Society!" uses symbolism of segregation and racism still existing within society today.
You can see more of his work here. You can also check out a wonderful interview with Jerome on the ARTS for ALL Wisconsin YouTube channel!
Michael Ward
Coloring books, hats , shirt, stickers, art. Obsurd art is all about turning individual Disabilities into capabilities.
Michael Ward was born on September 29th, 1978. After his arrival, on the way home a car jumped in front of his father’s vehicle, causing a severe accident that seriously injured Michael. Doctors today label him as having cerebral palsy.
Michael’s mother and father were both artists. It was always an adventure tracing over the lines of his mother’s drawings, coloring the world as he imagined. Objects and shapes became a big part of Michael’s life, but it was not until his adulthood that he became confident and ready to expose his work.
Throughout high school, Michael was always considered an outcast. However, this only made him more real, providing the extra push and fire beneath his feet to find his Superman. Soon he and the pencil became inseparable. Michael’s drawings speak for themselves. Only your eyes can analyze the theory behind his inner madness. The conscience, as Michael smiles, is Obsurd. It is something for everyone to question.
Here is a feature on Michael from Umoja magazine on August 30, 2022.
T. S. Banks
T S Banks, I am a Black QT disabled poet, playwright, community organizer, and teaching artist. I have the pleasure of sitting on the board for Disability Pride Madison and proud member of the Neighborhood Organizing Institute!
Website: https://www.lnutheaterco.com/
Facebook: LNU Theater Co
Instagram: @lnutheaterco
Tiffany Lee
Tiffany Lee is a Black queer femme from NYC. She’s more poem than flesh, more mermaid than girl, and more tender than most things. Tiffany works at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as the Crossroads coordinator and social justice educator, where she conjures programs and spaces for queer students of color. She’s a poet and a content writer for The Body is Not an Apology.
Website: https://leetiffany99.wixsite.com/poems
Instagram: @brownfemme
Ashanti Fortson
Ashanti Fortson is a cartoonist, illustrator, editor, and professor with a deep love for kind stories and fantastical settings. Their work explores transience and reflection through a tenderhearted lens, and a good comic essay will always brighten their day. Their debut graphic novel, Cress & Petra, will be published by HarperCollins in 2023. They're the spider-saving sort.
Please check out their website at https://ashantifortson.com !
Basil Wright
Basil's written work focuses primarily on urban fantasy and explores themes of disability rights and advocacy, the psychology of the other, and racial injustice. Their stories almost always have at least one magical inanimate object that becomes very animated, very fast. They currently live in the land of endless summer and infinite gators also known as Florida. When they’re not writing, they’re usually playing video games or watching cartoons with their sibling.
Twitter: @Kobanya_kana
Website: https://towerofbasil.wordpress.com
Caffeyne Luv
Caffeyne Luv is a genderfluid Afro-latinx Drag and burlesque performer out of Michigan. Producer, performer, and teacher of the POC only burlesque and healing class "Melanin Magic" they are passionate about advocacy and liberation through body politik.
Facebook: caffeyne.luve
David Player
RIT Alumni '19 | University of New Mexico Graduate Student
Kosmo Parker
Kosmo Parker is a southern fried community-taught artist who began creating autobiographical works in 2014 as self-therapy and a means to unpack, process, and visually articulate the experience of navigating the world in a disabled, queer, Black, trans body. Since then, Parker has worked hand-in-hand with various local, national, and international organizations to spotlight the nuanced experience of those living on the margins of the margins with visual noise loud enough to disrupt cyberspace and drive offline action.
Parker’s most notable works include: 'Unclear,' an abstract comic featured in the 2019 Ignatz Award winning all-trans anthology exploring fashion as a fat nonbinary fem in a culture where thinness and masculinity have become synonymous with nonbinary expression; a one-shot comic in the 2017 Black Girl Dangerous publication, ‘The Solidarity Struggle,’ calling out anti-Blackness disguised as “wokeness” in non-Black activist spaces; and the 2016 ‘Trans Day of Remembrance’ poster celebrating the continued resiliency of southern Black trans women. ”
You can find Kosmo on Twitter and Instagram @_SpaceBones , or check out xyr portfolio at https://spacebones.carrd.co/ !
Josiah Oyawale
I go by the name of Josoldier, I'm a twenty one year old artist-producer based in South East London. When I was 9 years old I was diagnosed with Mucopolysaccharidosis type 4a, I had a full hip replacement operation when I was Nineteen. I make faith-based music for the empowerment of others to demonstrate through my lifestyle & music how to be an overcomer.
Youtube: JOSOLDIER | THANK GOD IT'S SUNDAY!
Kaya
I’m a 24 year illustrator and a 28 year old artist that wants to show the world my vision, I’ve been working at for 15 years.
Instagram: @kayascribbles
Dr. Marcia Denis
Dr. Marcia is a powerlifting strongwoman & black spoonie living, playing, lifting, & practicing physical therapy in South Florida. She is the owner of Just Move Therapy and a co-host on the Disabled Girls Who Lift podcast.
Marcia is one of 3 hosts on the Disabled Girls Who Lift (DGWL) podcast. DGWL was created to share unique stories, techniques, and adaptive tools through hour-long podcast episodes, virtual events, blogs, and social media shares.
"Move with Marcia" is my lifeline to give people the tools to move better and feel better through movement. Movement is Medicine. It heals pain. It makes us stronger. It gives us confidence. "Move with Marcia" provides a safe space to move well and reduce pain for all bodies, abilities, sizes, and ages. I offer free resources for all bodies on Youtube & Instagram and paid classes on DoctorMarcia.com
DGWL: Website, Twitter, Instagram.
Move with Marcia: Website, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook.
Mary Russell
I’m a 51 year old mother & aspiring fashion designer with a genetic condition Achondroplasia commonly known as dwarfism.
Twitter: @marysodateable
Instagram: @magdalenefiftysomething
Facebook: Dwarfism Beautiful
Matt Maxey
I am a Black Deaf advocate and entertainer.
Marquisse
Levon Valle, also known as "Marquisse", is an artist, writer, and advocate that incorporates mental health, disability, spirituality, and his cultural heritages into his work. He currently prefers to explore his work through a surrealist perspective to convey how he perceives the world post-neurosurgery. Other hobbies include reading obscure scholarly research, gaming, and tending to his sacred tree Yaya.
You can find his work here: deviantart.com/mwatuangi
Nychelle Paige
My name is Nychelle, I, am an author and a poet. I had a Lupus Flare in2016 that left me almost fully paralyzed. Now, in 2020, I am walking once again and gaining a lot more independence. I still have a physical disability which is visible when you look at my hands, and also when you see me walk. I wrote The Matrix of Emotions to share my journey with the world and those who may have stopped believing in themselves. Everything you have been through you have gotten through. It’s with great pleasure I, present my work, as the end of each chapter features a poem written by me.
Purchase The Matrix of Emotions here, or buy merchandise here. Follow Nychelle on Instagram!
Rif Mincie
On April 2, 2019 I just remember calling 911 around 2 a.m.for shortness of breath. I awoke two days later in the hospital with a tube down my throat. I had an emergency tracheostomy. I left the hospital June 2, 2019 with a trach. Along with other medical issues i was born with...my life just did a complete 360. I thought life as I knew it was done. Since then, I’ve basically been home-bound trying to recover. I have learned to garden, cook and knit. I’ve relearned crocheting, and I’m even flirting with the idea of opening an online store, especially while I deal with the paperwork mess of filing for disability coverage. I’ve become a vegan, so I try to incorporate the things I grow in my garden to what I bring to the table.
Instagram: @ryydethis
Facebook: The Trachstar
https://trachlife.godaddysites.com/
Shawn Bethea
My name is Shawntel and I live with Crohn’s Disease. I advocate for those living with chronic illness and serve as an activist speaking out against racial injustice and oppression.
Sunny Brettman
Sunny Brettman is a biracial Black, Trans, Epileptic writer and artist. His work explores the places where the frayed and tender edges of isolation, family connection, and spirituality meet. Find more of his art and connect with him on instagram @GoneViveur, and keep your eyes peeled for his forthcoming comic novel, the Likely Cartoon Songbook!
Tahnee Jones
I'm an author and mother of two wonderful girls. My happiness is derived by helping others extract the greatness within themselves. Selfcare, positivity, and motivation is my thing! I reside in Dallas with my two daughters Kari and Yemisi.
Instagram: @authortahneejones
https://linktr.ee/Authortahneejones
Takeela (Kiki) Traner
I’m an Advocacy Poetry Visual Artist that focuses on what it’s like to be an individual with a disability who uses a wheelchair. My goal is to express myself with these art pieces and give a voice to my peers with disabilities. My personal goal is to empower my peers to see themselves in the community, and to bring awareness to the world. I do not allow my disability to define me, because I’m a powerful Black woman in a wheelchair and my future looks bright.
Check her out on Facebook here! www.facebook.com/TTArtCreations
Taylor Goethe
I'm a queer, neurodivergent, Black woman animator pursuing their MFA and working to direct independent films.
You can find Taylor's website here: taylorgoethe.pb.studio
Vicente Valentino
Hi there! I’m the artist behind Tienda Chulito. I’ve been an artist all my life, but resin is my latest passion. I am afrolatinx, sephardi, chronically ill/disabled, queer & trans. When I’m not making resin, you can find me making music!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tiendachulito
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tiendachulito/
Bandcamp: https://mxvalentino.bandcamp.com/
Jump to: Ashanti Fortson, Basil Wright, Caffeyne Luv, David Player, Dyshaunn Simmons, Felicia F. Clark, Jerome L. Glenn, Josiah Oyawale, Kaya, Kiah Garnet, Kosmo Parker, Dr. Marcia Denis, Mary Russell, Matt Maxey, Michael Ward, Mwatuangi, Nychelle Paige, Rif Mincie, Shawn Bethea, Sunny Brettman, Tahnee Jones, Takeela (Kiki) Traner, Taylor Goethe, Tiffany Lee, T. S. Banks, and Vicente Valentino.
![[Image ID: A drawing of a garden of multicolor flowers. The top text reads "Our Garden of Sponsors". Above the flowers are five bees- the names of the people and organizations Jennifer Woo, Heart Consulting LLC, Chrysalis Pops, TMG, Arts For All, and Levon Valle trail after each individual bee. There are four stout flowers in orange, blue, purple, and pink. They are labeled Premier Financial, Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired, Compassion Caregivers LLC (logo only), Community Living Alliance, and Kara Mannor. There is a stout purple flower with a purple and orange bud on top of it, labeled WisPACT. Access to Independence is written on the leaves and stem of a spiky blue flower with an orange center. GT Independence the Great Lakes ADA Center are represented by a purple/orange and blue/pink tulip. WORT is a represented by a large dark orange and light orange flower. BPDD is represented by a blue rose. Madison Arts Commission is represented by three stems of pink butterfly bush. Dane Arts is represented by a large blue symmetrical flower with an orange center. End image ID.]](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/LTCaxDxXjAR_toFTjPJD1LYC4E8AJEU-hC2fslSYxqkb1UXHPpIf0UeMLnrmkvBbBzpasUIK2vngGtbIWxg0hcRYOpiMoCEr0CxHwdbW7M5rrcUdTIK7g9Uzui8yeivK=w1280)
[Image ID: A drawing of a garden of multicolor flowers. The top text reads "Our Garden of Sponsors". Above the flowers are five bees- the names of the people and organizations Jennifer Woo, Heart Consulting LLC, Chrysalis Pops, TMG, Arts For All, and Levon Valle trail after each individual bee. There are four stout flowers in orange, blue, purple, and pink. They are labeled Premier Financial, Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired, Compassion Caregivers LLC (logo only), Community Living Alliance, and Kara Mannor. There is a stout purple flower with a purple and orange bud on top of it, labeled WisPACT. Access to Independence is written on the leaves and stem of a spiky blue flower with an orange center. GT Independence the Great Lakes ADA Center are represented by a purple/orange and blue/pink tulip. WORT is a represented by a large dark orange and light orange flower. BPDD is represented by a blue rose. Madison Arts Commission is represented by three stems of pink butterfly bush. Dane Arts is represented by a large purple symmetrical flower with an orange center. End image ID.]