An incredibly moving story about an artist/performer suffering from chronic pain. This example could be used to illustrate how disabilities can be completely invisible and how my students as art-directors needs to be aware of the people they choose to collaborate with; be sensitive to the locations chosen to create performative works.
This is also a great conversation starting to get students to talk about any ‘hidden’ disabilities they might have so everyone in the class is aware; not in a finger-pointing way, but so that students are not just assuming their peers are all able-bodied.
I am unsure how practically I can integrate this thread of research into the film-making aspect of the unit I run. Perhaps it’s an option for the students to read upon rather than strongly implement into the teachings.
>> BIG PS. Upon reflecting on this, I realize I suffer from back pain but it’s just something I am dealing with in the background of everyday life. At this moment is not enough to significantly alter my daily activities nevertheless I have had to spend money on physiotherapy over the years to make sure it’s nothing serious. Also, trying every stretching exercise under the sun to help with the pain.
This idea of pain tolerance is something I am building up and perhaps in similar ways, the pain suffered by Khairani in this article can be reduced if the artist/designer and especially the performance community; can recognize everyone doesn’t have to build up a tolerance for pain but rather frameworks in place to alleviate pain instead.