Disabled Artist Spotlight
Disability Advocacy Week, March 30-April 4, is presented by the VCU Student Government’s Disability Advocacy and Accessibility Caucus. Among the week’s activities, “Disabled Artist Spotlight” runs on the Cabell Screen premiering Tuesday, March 31, and remaining on view through spring.
This exhibition brings together more than 20 artists with 40 works spanning sculpture, craft, works on paper, digital media and short video. Featuring both students and faculty, the show creates an intentional space for disabled artists and advocates of accessibility to share their lived experiences, desires, resilience, and identities. It is not only a platform for visibility, but a space for connection, where artists can see themselves reflected in one another and where community can be built, affirmed and celebrated.
Each piece is created with love and care, grounded in an understanding of what it means to navigate the world through disability. Together, these works highlight the creativity and capability within the disability community. While some meanings are immediately visible, others remain beneath the surface, reflecting the unseen barriers that can shape everyday life for people with disabilities and often go unnoticed.
The DAAC hopes this spotlight sparks conversation around disability, access, and the systems that shape both. Accessibility is not passive; it requires effort, intention, and a willingness to recognize what has been overlooked.
According to curator Xavier McDanial: “True accessibility is not abstract, but practiced. The exhibit is an attempt to break barriers that isolate and exclude. Creating and designing for access ultimately benefits everyone. ”
More about DAAC
The Disability Advocacy and Accessibility Caucus (DAAC) is a student-led group within the Student Government Association (SGA), spearheaded by Shady Habib, Hannah Bunting, Sunshine Tomlin, and Xavier McDaniel. DAAC is dedicated to improving the quality of life for students across the university by advocating for structural change, equitable access and greater institutional accountability.
Through both policy-driven initiatives and community-centered programming, DAAC works to address the systemic barriers that limit full participation for people with disabilities. Their efforts center not only on access, but on fostering a more inclusive campus culture where disabled students are supported, represented and empowered. In addition to organizing Disability Advocacy Week, DAAC is developing initiatives such as accessible campus maps, expanded daytime paratransit services and educational campaigns focused on best practices in accessibility. These projects aim to create lasting, tangible change that benefits the entire university community.
Undergraduate Students featured in the “Spotlight“
- Acacia Olander
- Aja Williams Carleigh Parker
- Coley Frazier Bestpitch
- Cyan Vidales Nicoletti
- Helen Dacy Trout
- Jackson Sheehy
- Kenza Zitouni
- Lucille Elliott
- Maya De Leon
- Morgan Jones
- Naomi Lewis
- Nico Martoccia
- Nyla Cooper
- Parita Lamba
- Sage Kushman
- Sofia Minera
- Sofia Viani
- Sophie Nave
- Will Baggett
- Xavier McDaniel
Graduate Students Featured
- Kay Wylde
- Rachel Dixonl
Faculty Member Featured
- Brooke Ann Inman