Around 15 percent of the female population are women with disabilities. Government agencies are required to protect women with disabilities from abuse. But what is the reality? In an intensive two-week project lead by KISD Prof. Iris Utikal and BA alumna Esther Kantorek, the students addressed this alarming issue.
The first part of the project was dedicated to understanding and sharing personal experiences. In the second part the students developed creative interventions. They designed inclusive ideas that are accessible to as many people as possible. The goal of the project is to stimulate discussion about multiple discrimination and structural violence with a focus on inclusion and gender as well as to raise awareness about violence against women with disabilities.
The three motifs shown here were designed by KISD student Luiza Talamini and represent one of six results of the project.
Luiza wanted to depict women with disabilities from her perspective on the topic, since all the images of people with disabilities she found in her research seemed impersonal and limited to depicting a service or a medical issue. She was surprised by the lack of depictions that simply portrayed these women naturally.
Although inclusive fashion is an important issue and many women with disabilities are very passionate about fashion, they have little or no representation in the fashion industry.
Luisa’s goal was to combat the violence of women with disabilities being left out, ignored, silenced and neglected in the fashion, beauty and other industries and fields.
She therefore created motifs with strong and fashion-conscious women. In this way, she wanted to show that women with disabilities have just as much right to feel beautiful, dress and wear make-up as any other woman. She spoke to women with disabilities about their experiences with fashion and combined some phrases that she found provocative with her illustrations.
