When I got home from Hungary, I received a package in the mail from Frances. It was a kit for the Disability Mural: a 12" x 12" masonite tile, a description of the project, instructions, and a list of words or themes that I could choose from to help describe my story of disability. My finished tile #880 "Up, Up and Away" (see image below). The kit also had a form to fill out, and the final question box read, "Yes! I want to host Mural tile-making workshops for my organization, my company, or my friends!" I filled in the box with a decisive "X".
When we met, Frances had been working on the Disability Mural project for 5 years. The Mural began in March 2000 as a 200 square-foot work, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Eleven years and well over a thousand tiles later, the Mural has been installed in its permanent home, the brand new universally-designed Ed Roberts Campus at the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) - Ashby Station in Berkeley, CA. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Campus and the unveiling of the Disability Mural is scheduled for April 9, 2011.
Tile #880 has been installed there among the many, and AAAWD and I would like to help people in Duluth add their stories to the Mural in Berkeley, too. We would also like to find a permanent home in Duluth so that some of the stories can remain and be appreciated here in our own community. We hope you will want to get involved in this project and add your story to this expanding mosaic!
Thank you, Frances!
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| "Up, Up, and Away (Disability Mural Tile #880)" © Bridget Riversmith 2010. |
