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A new exhibition opening today at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) showcases contemporary works by 15 disabled, neurodiverse, and D/deaf artists, marking the first survey of its kind at a major public gallery. The curators emphasize the exhibition's focus on representation and care.
Titled "Towards New Worlds," the exhibition spans various forms of visual arts while questioning and redefining the term itself. Incorporating sounds, smells, and textures into a soothing space, the exhibit challenges the conventional gallery experience.
Multidisciplinary artist and disability activist Jenni Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen, currently featured in the Finnish pavilion at the Venice Biennale, presents a darkly satirical film. Her piece, Reflector of Living Will, critiques the devaluation of care workers and the dehumanization of those they tend to by featuring an emotionally intelligent robot in the role of a carer.
Christopher Samuel, whose work is deeply rooted in identity and disability politics, provides an interactive narrative of his life as a Black, disabled person growing up in 1980s Britain. His piece, The Archive of an Unseen, uses a brightly colored microform reader to liberate his story from the medical gaze that defined his youth, offering him autonomy.
Aidan Moesby, the exhibition’s curator, states, “Each of the artists in this exhibition could take their rightful place in a traditional, mainstream white cube gallery. But as a group, our work often isn’t valued in the same way.”
Moesby, who joined MIMA through the Future Curator’s scheme aimed at developing disabled curators, sees this exhibition as part of a commitment to meaningful change and genuine representation.
Despite making up 23% of the UK’s working-age population, disabled people are significantly underrepresented in the arts. A 2023 report by the British Council found that 48% of European arts organizations present work by disabled artists less than once a year, with 23% never doing so.
"Towards New Worlds" not only addresses these numbers but also challenges how disabled and neurodiverse artists’ work is perceived. The artists ask viewers to engage with their stories while judging the work based on its intrinsic quality.
For photographer Joanne Coates, exploring her dual diagnosis of ADHD and autism within her work was empowering, albeit daunting. Her piece, Laborious, staged in a barn, reflects her life as a farm worker and her neurodivergence through repetitive and difficult movements. Coates notes, “I’ve noticed a negative approach to disability or neurodivergence that I didn't see as much growing up.”
She adds, “Making the work helps me regulate in some way. It made me think about the care we give to farm animals versus humans.”
Through this exhibition, MIMA is making a significant stride in emphasizing inclusivity and the quality of work by disabled, neurodiverse, and D/deaf artists.
