Author ORCID Identifier

0009-0005-1996-2140

Month/Year of Graduation

5-2026

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Department

Art and Art History

First Advisor

Mark Gilbert

Abstract

Visual art has immense potential to communicate complex experiences of disability. As a disabled artist, I am interested in how disability has been portrayed in artwork, particularly in how other disabled artists choose to represent their lived experiences. Through art-based research, this study explores how disabled artists have used portraiture to depict their disability. Selected art includes work from Frida Kahlo, Deborah Padfield, Persimmon Blackbridge, and the author. Following an analysis of literature, selected artworks, and salient disability scholarship, emergent themes were identified. The focus on the complexity of disability experiences demonstrated the importance of considering a wide range of perspectives and experiences. The selected artwork shares the goal of making highly personal experiences visible to others. Traditionally, portraiture has been used to confer dignity and authority to subjects. Disabled artists claim this idea, using self-portraiture to command respect and acknowledgement. Vulnerability is a recurring theme in disability art, facilitating connection and communication between artist, subject, and viewer.

Comments

Reviewed and passed for accessibility.

Juliana Scheopner is a printmaker, curator, advocate, scientist, and lover of nuance. Her work addresses lived experiences with dynamic disability, documenting moments of joy, frustration, and absurdity. She is drawn to the nuance inherent to these disability experiences. Through artwork and conversation, she dreams of a more understanding, empathetic, and accessible world. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, curated exhibitions, taught workshops, and advocated for access and inclusion. She holds a BFA in Studio Art and a BS in Psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

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