Posted January 26, 2020 by Alice Wong DVP News and Events

Community as Home: Call for Stories

Illustrated portrait of Alice Wong and Ashanti Fortson, with a purple, pink, mauve, and blue color palette. Wong is an Asian American woman wearing a dark blue jacket and a pink-and-lavender chevron-patterned scarf, as well as a mask over her nose with a tube for her Bi-Pap machine. Fortson is an Afro-Mexican person wearing light yellow star earrings, large and round pink glasses, and a dark blue knit shawl with accents in bright pink. Clouds swirl in front of the figures, and stars are visible in the night sky behind them. Shooting stars with bright pink trails are scattered throughout the portrait. Near the bottom of the image, embellished text reads "Alice and Ashanti," and the text "#CommunityAsHome" is underneath. — Illustrated portrait of Alice Wong and Ashanti Fortson, with a purple, pink, mauve, and blue color palette. Wong is an Asian American woman wearing a dark blue jacket and a pink-and-lavender chevron-patterned scarf, as well as a mask over her nose with a tube for her Bi-Pap machine. Fortson is an Afro-Mexican person wearing light yellow star earrings, large and round pink glasses, and a dark blue knit shawl with accents in bright pink. Clouds swirl in front of the figures, and stars are visible in the night sky behind them. Shooting stars with bright pink trails are scattered throughout the portrait. Near the bottom of the image, embellished text reads “Alice and Ashanti,” and the text “#CommunityAsHome” is underneath.

Deadline for submissions: March 6, 2020

#CommunityAsHome is a collaboration by two disabled artists of color, Ashanti Fortson and Alice Wong, featuring 15 digital portraits and stories representing the diversity of the disability community. This project is centered on the joy, culture, and love of disabled people and how we create communities and homes for one another.

We explore the following questions and themes with #CommunityAsHome:

What is the power of finding community?
Who are your communities and cultural homes?
How do you find and sustain community?
What does it mean to belong as a disabled person in society?
How do you see yourself in relation to the world around you?
What is the beauty and joy of finding and being with ‘your people’?

We welcome people 18 years and older to submit their images and reflections about home and community with these 3 ways.

Online form: https://dvp.wufoo.com/forms/z1rkdp8606lm3te/
Video: Submit a video answering any of the questions listed above. Send a link (example: YouTube) and any photos in an email to DisabilityVisibilityProject@gmail.com with your name and “Community As Home” in the email subject line.
Audio: you can record an audio file and attach an audio file (mp3, wav) plus any photos in an email it to DisabilityVisibilityProject@gmail.com. Include your name and “Community As Home” in the email subject line.

You are not required to share a photo if you have privacy concerns. You are welcome to share your story anonymously or share photos of objects that represent community to you.

Fifteen photo submissions will be selected by artist Ashanti Fortson for digital portraiture which will be available on Ashanti’s website this summer.

A #CommunityAsHome Twitter chat will take place in July featuring the digital portraits and quotes and images from the online survey. A coloring book will be available winter 2020 featuring quotes from participants.

Important Dates and Additional Details

January 27: Call for stories and photos

March 6: Deadline for submissions

March 15: Individuals selected for portraiture will be notified

July 19: Alice and Ashanti will host a Twitter chat in the lead up to the 30th anniversary of the ADA on the theme of #CommunityAsHome

Digital portraits plus image descriptions will be downloadable and available here starting July 2020: https://ashantifortson.com/
All responses, audio, video, and photos submitted by participants may also appear on the Disability Visibility Project website, on social media, and other content such as a written summary or coloring book.
All content created for #CommunityAsHome will be free and used for non-commercial purposes.