Artwork and Bodymapping: A Guided Exploration

Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Artists working within traditional spaces confront ableist barriers, as even well-intentioned designs often prioritize an able-bodied experience, requiring adaptation and resulting in exhaustion. Finnegan Shannon, whose artwork Do you want us here or not (MHR) - Bench is permanently on view at the Allen, is one artist who challenges these norms through artwork that prioritizes a disability aesthetic while operating as an accessibility tool, providing seating that they require to be used as part of its appreciation.

Also on view, artist and disability activist Sharona Franklin’s work Nest Egg for Transient Childhoods responds to the dehumanizing experience of the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Each morning, she performs a self-described "bio ritual," photographing her medication in still-life arrangements which are printed on fabric, along with photos and text fragments that cover a hand-stitched quilt.

Schedule:

• 10–10:45 / Tour and discussion of artworks
• 10:45–12 / First-person led dialogue and art-making activity centered on creativity as a self-care practice
• 12–1 / Lunch (provided) and connection/reflection

Free and open to all, but registration is required. Participants are welcome to come for a portion of the event and leave early.

Registration Required

Image: Sharona Franklin (Canadian, b. 1987), Nest Egg for Transient Childhoods, 2020. Cotton, linen, velvet, silk, polyester, vinyl, metal, and plastic. Purchased with funds from Peter Frumkin (OC 1984) in memory of his parents Allan and Jean Frumkin, 2022.24.

Access Statement:
This talk will be held in a wheelchair- and rolling walker-accessible building. Restrooms are gender-specific and wheelchair-accessible. Gallery seating is limited, and stools are available by the back entrance. Listening devices and ASL are currently not scheduled for this event, nor will it be recorded. Please email access questions to Jill Greenwood, jgreenwo@oberlin.edu.