ABSTRACT
The relationship between disability and art is conceptualised in ways which are not always mutually exclusive. The first is in terms of its rehabilitative use for persons with disabilities as occupation therapy. Secondly, Disability-Arts has always had a vibrant relationship in terms of arts’ use as political tool of activism and expression of disability identity and experience. Thirdly, there have always been concerns about the cultural representation of disability and how it has been ‘figured’ in museums, art and cultural heritage (Sandell et al., 2013; Garland-Thompson, 2017). Art, as a full expression of knowledge and expression of human thought, certainly for centuries has seen the emergence of disability as an object of representation or narration (Canevaro & Goussot, 2000; Delin, 2002; Gardou, 2015; Minority Reports, 2015). Attention has also turned to the physical access and enjoyment of aesthetic experiences, museum spaces and cultural heritage by persons with disabilities as participatory work of activism (Sandell et al., 2013), which is the focus of this chapter.
