Disabled And Here is a portrait and stock photo series highlighting disabled BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and additional people of color) around the Pacific Northwest. I want to literally show people how wide the spectrum of disability actually is (including invisible disabilities!) through beautifully affirming portraiture accompanied by interviews AND provide inclusive stock photography options for disability and chronic illness that’s shot from our own lens for once.

Media portrayals of disability tend to be homogenous and one-dimensional, focusing primarily on children and elderly folk, who tend to be white and either appearing sad or serving as inspiration porn for non-disabled audiences. There's also a strong emphasis on physical disability, particularly those requiring wheelchairs, even though mobility aids come in all kinds of varieties and customizations. Disabled And Here is a reclaiming of our depiction, celebrating and featuring disabled adults with different diagnoses (or lack thereof), body sizes/types, sexual orientations, and gender identities. And as the BIPOC acronym implies, Disabled And Here will prioritize Black and Indigenous folx, since they've typically been the most impacted by systemic oppression.

To ensure that our stock photo collection is accessible, Disabled And Here will have high and standard quality downloads available online for free under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licensing, with image descriptions included.

Ultimately, Disabled And Here hopes to empower BIPOC with disabilities and chronic illness, with representation and education as the first steps towards social change.

What our grantee is saying: "Thank you so much for propelling Disabled And Here forward! Fundraising is super exhausting, so Awesome Disability's support is both a huge emotional and financial boost. With this grant, I can finally officially recruit disabled people of color for the first installment of the photo series, with the peace of mind of having their compensation covered. Here’s to creating better representations of disability and chronic illness that are by and for us!"