This last Monday at the Disability Advocates of Kent County’s Invest in Ability annual dinner, the City of Grand Rapids was singled out for an award for their advances in creating a more welcoming city for all through their commitment to expanding access for all.
This is not just good PR but good governance, since who doesn’t want to make room for others to experience what so many freely do (and often without much thought)?
But a huge part of our city’s journey is also owed to DisArt, an organization committed to increasing the participation of Disabled people in our communities through the curation of art exhibitions, cutting-edge public events, and organizational coaching.
DisArt is proud to welcome Professor
Aimi Hamraie from Vanderbilt University, who will be on Aquinas’ campus for an in-depth conversation about how urban design and public art, when rooted in an understanding of Disability art and culture, can help cities celebrate and sustain, rather than eliminate, embodied difference.
Hamraie’s insights will seek to illuminate the good work Grand Rapids is already doing to achieve an “age-friendly community” designation — an initiative of the World Health Organization in partnership with AARP.
In this talk, Hamraie will cover urban design, public art, and building certification frameworks to analyze transformations within contemporary cities. To do this, Hamraie will draw on concepts from Disability studies, feminist science studies, permaculture ethics, and urban geography.
“DisArt is continually looking for opportunities to engage the community in conversations about equity, accessibility, and the positive role disability has to play in community,” says Co-Founder/Co-Executive Director Chris Smit. “This important lecture by Prof. Hamraie coincides with some major growth in Grand Rapids, and we are thrilled to be able to help introduce her thoughts on making sure that our city thrives as a place for all people.”
As an added bonus, this event is being produced in partnership with Local First, who is offering a discounted ticket price for lecture attendees for their annual Fork Fest, which takes place just three blocks away immediately after this lecture event.
To purchase tickets in advance, please visit DisArt’s special event
website.
(Editor's note: DisArt is encouraging us to capitalize the word "Disability" moving forward.)