By Mae Kail
Stomping Ground L.A. (SGLA), a community arts center located in the El Sereno neighborhood of East Los Angeles, held its first iteration of the Disabled Artists Showcase – a subset of the already running “VOICES” project.
According to their website, SGLA, “..is a community arts center for professionals and the public to engage in artistic work and inspire all people to lead creative and expressive lives.”
The project began in February 2022 and has produced a variety of showcases that represent artists within the Black, Latinx/Indigenous, Asian American and Pacific Islander and LGBTQ+ communities.
Rowan O'Bryan (left), a recent graduate from the UCLA Fine Arts program who lives with cystic fibrosis, shares their photo series titled "An Invitation to Share" with guests of the event. Photo credit: Maya Umemoto Gorman
“The idea for these showcases stemmed from my time as coordinator of CSULB Affinity A.I.D.E when I was in my undergrad program at Cal State Long Beach. It was a dream of ours, meaning the members of Affinity, to be able to host showcases that displayed the voices of our underrepresented and marginalized communities,” said “VOICES” creator Derrick Paris.
The event hosted artwork that included different mediums like dance, poetry, photography, acting, filmmaking and an acapella performance. The common thread between all of the works was that the artists had some form of disability, both visible and invisible.
Alena Nemitz, a 24-year-old artist living with endometriosis, read poetry from their new prose poetry book “I Don’t Want to Have to Die Again,” which is set to be published this summer. Nemitz explained their experience as an artist within the showcase and what the event’s accessibility measures meant to her.
“It meant the world to me, as an invisibly disabled artist to sit on stage with an ASL interpreter and know that that night, that space was for us. There was a space I could lay when my pain flared from moving all day. There were people that understood without me having to say anything. I danced outside in the rain after, I cried, I rejoiced,” Nemitz said.
At the end of "VOICES" the show, guests intermingle across the stage, engaging in lively conversation and offering praise to the artists involved. Photo credit: Maya Umemoto Gorman
As an event geared towards representing and showcasing the talents of individuals with disabilities, the producers made it a point to make the showcase as accessible as possible to the artists and audience.
“We discussed that it begins from the root, essentially stemming from us,” Paris explained.
They provided ear plugs, seat cushions, an ASL interpreter for all spoken-word pieces, captions for all visual art and a sensory room for guests to tend to their mental or physical needs. They also made it a masked event to ensure the safety of immunocompromised individuals.
Paris also explained that they provided an accessibility form in the application process for artists to share their needs, as well as a similar form for guests.
Vanessa Hernández Cruz, a disabled Chicana dance artist, disability justice activist and CSULB alumni, performed in the showcase and shared what “VOICES” meant to her.
Co-director Shan Hafez (left) embraces dancer Vanessa Hernández Cruz (right) in a heartfelt hug following the showcase. Photo credit: Maya Umemoto Gorman
“Oftentimes, disabled artists and audiences are left out of events & opportunities because of inaccessible space. I am thankful for Shan and Derrick for creating access from the beginning all the way to the end,” Cruz said.
Typically, the “VOICES” showcases are held as five individual events throughout the year. This year, “VOICES” will be transitioning to a biannual format, hosting all five communities twice a year.
The next “VOICES” showcase will be known as “VOICES Fest” and is set for June 2024.
