ADA 35: Disability Theory; Disability in Practice; Disability as Culture

April 7-12, 2025

Over the past four years, the Symposium for Disability and Accessibility at Yale has explored topics that intersect with disability. Cross-cultural collaboration, education, race, the law, health disparities, accessible spaces, and lived experiences have all been key points of inquiry that we have engaged within the Yale community and beyond.

This year, in light of the 35th anniversary of the signing of the ADA, we seek to expand these conversations. By collaborating with interlocutors from other institutions and organizations, we hope to gauge the progress made over the last 35 years while also considering how we might work together to promote Disability Justice, Culture, and Empowerment for members of our communities.

Wednesday, April 9th. 12:30 PM: Accessible Weaving with Intertwine Arts 

Presented by Ria G. Hawks

Intertwine Arts is a nonprofit organization that provides fiber arts workshops to people with intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities and/or chronic illness, and their families. Many disabled people face exclusion from creative opportunities and traditional programs for art-making and community due to issues of accessibility and social pressure. We offer the opportunity to explore art through fiber art and free style weaving. Our workshops address the challenges of creative exclusion by tailoring our programs to meet our audience’s needs, abilities, and interests and by bringing additional artistic resources to supplement the valuable work done by our partner organizations. In our programs, people with disabilities experience joy, curiosity, and self-confidence as they explore fiber art within a supportive and expansive philosophical framework. This presentation will illustrate the impact of our process of making fiber art within the disability community by story and illustration. 

Format: Virtual  

Location:  Zoom (registration required)