Disabled artists overcome barriers, build awareness

Erika Nelson poses for a photo Nov. 21 in the studio at her Bentonville home.
Erika Nelson poses for a photo Nov. 21 in the studio at her Bentonville home.

Earning a living as an artist has challenges, especially when a disabled artist is unable to compete in the market in the same way as an able-bodied peer.

Erika Nelson, 59, contracted polio when she was 6 months old and living in the Philippines, she said.

"I had my shot, but my playmate apparently hadn't," Nelson said. "By the time it was properly diagnosed, it was really bad. It had affected me through the nervous system."

The disease left Nelson with double vision, waning energy and paralyzed her legs and her right arm from the elbow up, she said.

"So, I have one good limb, which has served me for 59 years," Nelson said. "This one arm has served me all those years, lifting both legs, moving my right arm, doing everything."

Nelson is a figurative artist who works with oils, acrylics, watercolors and charcoal on canvas in the studio at her Bentonville home.

"I'm going for volume and composition," Nelson said. "I love anatomy."

Nelson includes painting nude, female figures or women in period costumes among some of her favorite subjects. Her current project is impressionistic and is inspired from about a dozen photographs of Nelson, her husband, her mother and her stepfather, she said.

The artist said she's learned to be flexible and to compartmentalize tasks so she can focus on creating, rather than her limitations.

"When I'm in the zone, it's like the issues kind of melt away," she said. "It's like I can see everything I need to see."

Tasks like painting the top of a large canvas take some creativity to complete, as Nelson is often unable to reach the top of the piece while working from her wheelchair.

"How do you paint a face upside down?" Nelson asked, explaining she'll have to flip the portrait she was working on to complete it. "It's going to be a lot of work."

The disabled community

Arkansas has the second highest number of disabled residents per capita in the United States, with 18% of the population having a disability, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. West Virginia is first in the nation at 20.2% and Kentucky is third with 17.5%.

The percentage of artists with disabilities is similar to that of all U.S. workers, according to the Artists and Other Cultural Workers report by the National Endowment for the Arts. About 5.1% of artists and 6% percent of all workers reported having one or more disabilities from 2012-2016.

"The labor force participation rate of people with disabilities overall is extremely low," said Olivia Raynor, Tarjan Center director at the University of California, Los Angeles, in an email. The Tarjan Center works for collaboration, innovation and systems change to advance the self-determination and inclusion of people with disabilities nationwide.

Approximately 63% of working-age people without disabilities participate in the labor force, versus about 33% of people with disabilities, Raynor said.

Opportunities for people with disabilities have dramatically improved since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, according to the brief Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities by the national endowment. The improvements can in large part be attributed to the integration of students in public schools, anti-discrimination laws and increased inclusion and accommodations in the workforce, according to the report.

Yet many disabled artists continue to struggle to have successful careers as accessibility challenges and public perception remain barriers, according to the brief. It's important to recognize that artists may face social barriers as well, Raynor said.

"For a person with a disability who is a woman and person of color, the barriers may be more pervasive," she said.

NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF Erika Nelson paints Nov. 21 in the studio at her Bentonville home.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF Erika Nelson paints Nov. 21 in the studio at her Bentonville home.

Transportation barriers

What Nelson creates is limited by transportation, she said. The artist has a van she can use, but often has no one who can drive her around for tasks like going to a framer, the post office or gallery shows.

She said public transportation is sometimes available to the areas where she needs to go, but rarely is an option for getting directly to a service or venue. Public transportation also presents challenges for transporting artwork or getting back to her residence late at night following a gallery event when services are no longer available.

"Try to do stuff every day with one arm and see how far you can go," Nelson said, noting it's difficult to prevent damaging her work when she uses public transportation.

Door-to-door services for the disabled often limit service to taking people to meet medical needs and are not always designed to allow for work or personal endeavors, she said.

"There's a lot of considerations," she said of being a disabled working artist. "It's more than just brush to the canvas. It's a lot of mental preparation and energy."

The lack of transportation at times prevents Nelson from being represented in galleries.

"They want you to be present for openings, even though it's not your art show. They want you to mingle," she said. "It might as well be China for me."

Having to turn down opportunities and to miss being recognized in their art discipline can be detrimental to artists' careers, Raynor said.

Earning an income

Kasey Hodges, 28, is a graphic designer who works in her Springdale home.

Hodges was born with cerebral palsy, said David Bassett, her stepfather. The neurological disorder primarily affects body movement and muscle coordination.

"She can't walk, talk, feed herself or any of that stuff," Bassett said, noting Hodges has a personal caregiver 24/7.

Hodges communicates through sign language and by using a trackball like a computer mouse to control a cursor on her computer's desktop, she said. The trackball allows her to use graphic design programs.

The artist describes her style as simplistic, but bold.

"I'm personally drawn to pop art," she said.

Hodges said she most enjoys helping other artists create their branding by creating visuals for social media and email campaigns, designing print materials and building websites.

"It's an unspoken way to communicate what they are about and their goals," Hodges said. "They are able to connect emotionally and enlighten people on subjects while being entertaining or visually stimulating."

Venue accessibility through transportation isn't a barrier for Hodges, who said she has a car her caregivers can drive to help meet her personal and professional needs. The greater challenge is balancing earning an income and retaining her government disability benefits, she said.

"For artists with intermittent income, it is very difficult to accept awards, scholarships or a short-term boost in income, as it places your Social Security at risk," Raynor said.

People with disabilities are also at risk of losing other essential benefits through employment, such as in-home support services or low-income housing, she said.

"The public systems that were designed decades ago as a safety net now keep far too many in abject poverty," Raynor said. "Around 3% of people once on Social Security succeed in fully transitioning off benefits to employment. For many, it's not the income that people fear losing, it's health care."

The Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability programs are the largest of several federal programs that provide assistance to people with disabilities, according to the Social Security Administration.

Social Security Disability Insurance pays benefits based on financial need to individuals or family members if the individual is "insured," meaning they've worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes, according to the administration.

Building awareness

Changing public perception is also key to removing barriers for disabled artists, Raynor said.

"We have to stop viewing the talents of people with disabilities as special, unique or inspiring or 'in spite of their disability,'" she said. "From birth, children with disabilities should have the same opportunities for inclusion, access and equity given to all youth. How wonderful if they happen to also have a passion to pursue the arts."

Hodges said she hopes to create change through her work.

"I wouldn't do it otherwise," she said.

Hodges said her pieces Rise and Yes I Can that were recently featured at Art Ventures in Fayetteville are among her favorites. The show featured artists with disabilities and other challenges.

Rise includes an image of a clenched fist raised in victory, and the other features a profile of Hodges with the words "Yes I can" in a text bubble.

"Rise and Yes, I Can are my responses to the external world that has limited access to people because of their disability, race, gender and other marginalized identities," Hodges said.

"Sometimes hearing or experiencing 'no' all the time causes people to internalize that no, limiting their dreams and their belief in what they can achieve. I want these pieces to be reminders that we all have the ability to say 'yes' and fight against stigmas and stereotypes."

It's important for the disabled to be viewed as legitimate artists, Nelson said.

"It's about educating society," she said. "It's not a hobby. It's not therapy. It's really a livelihood."

NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF Erika Nelson poses for a photo Nov. 21 in the studio at her Bentonville home.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF Erika Nelson poses for a photo Nov. 21 in the studio at her Bentonville home.

Remaining informed

The U.S. Census Bureau collects data primarily through the American Community Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation.

National and state information and statistics on the disabled is available online at https://www.census.…">https://www.census.….

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Upcoming articles

Subsequent articles in this series about artists in Northwest Arkansas will feature:

• Octavio Logo, a Latino who’s addressing barriers within the region’s immigrant population.

• Danielle Hatch, a woman who’s attempting to find success amid the societal expectations that exist for her gender.

• Bobby C. Martin, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, who’s exploring his family’s Native American history through his work.

• Jody Travis Thompson, who is addressing challenges and diversity within the LGBTQ+ community.

• Ziba Rajabi, an Iranian working to reconcile her relationship with her homeland with the life she’s building in Northwest Arkansas.

Source: Staff report

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles about diversity in the visual arts in Northwest Arkansas.

NW News on 12/30/2019

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