>> CATHY: THE MILL CITY MUSEUM OPENED A BRAND-NEW EXHIBIT ENTITLED "THE ART OF DISABILITY JUSTICE NOW."

THE EXHIBITION BRINGS TOGETHER ARTWORK FROM DISABLED ARTISTS HERE IN THE TWIN CITIES AND AIMS TO HIGHLIGHT THE OVERLOOKED INDIVIDUALS IN THE DISABILITY RIGHTS MOVEMENT, INCLUDING BIPOC AND IMMIGRANTS WITH DISABILITIES.

HERE WITH US NOW FROM THE CURATORIAL TEAM: MAI THOR IS WITH AMPLIFY MINNESOTA, A DISABILITY JUSTICE COLLECTIVE; AND ONE OF THE FEATURED ARTISTS, ZOE CINEL.

WELCOME TO YOU BOTH.

I'M GLAD YOU'RE BOTH HERE.

THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Cathy: , WELL, MAI, I'M CURIOUS HERE.

NOW, THIS EXHIBIT.

MY FRIENDS WHO HAVE DISABILITIES SAY IT'S LIKE YOU'RE HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S SO MANY FOLKS WITH DISABILITIES.

WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS PARTICULAR EXHIBIT?

>> SURE.

SO THE -- "THE ART OF DISABILITY JUSTICE NOW" IS, AS YOU SAID, WHAT'S AT MILL CITY MUSEUM, AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S AN ART EXHIBITION THAT IS JUST A REAL AUTHENTIC PERSPECTIVE OF THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE WITH VARIOUS DISABILITIES.

AND ZOE'S OING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE ACTUAL PIECES OF WORK.

BUT I THINK GENERALLY YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, JUST SORT OF THE CHALLENGES THAT PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED IN THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCES.

AND YOU JUST SAID IT YOURSELF, CATHY, THAT DISABILITY CAN BE KIND OF IDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT, RIGHT?

BECAUSE DISABILITY, THERE'S A HUGE SPECTRUM, RIGHT?

AND DISABILITIES CAN BE VERY APPARENT OR INVISIBLE.

AND I THINK OUR EXHIBITION REALLY JUST SORT OF ENCAPSULATES ALL OF THOSE EXPERIENCES IN THE ARTISTS THAT WE'VE FEATURED AND SO I, YOU KNOW, AND, AGAIN, IT COULD BE CHALLENGES, BUT IT COULD ALSO BE MORE POSITIVE THINGS, YOU KNOW, SUCCESSES AS WELL.

SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT IT'S ABOUT.

>> Eric: SO WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EXHIBIT?

>> THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EXHIBIT, LIKE MAI WAS SAYING, TO SHOW THE COMPLEXITY OF THE LIVED EXPERIENCE.

AND THE CREATIVITY OF ARTISTS WHO LIVE WITH DISABILITIES.

SO THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE WHO WILL COME TO THE EXHIBIT TO CONNECT WITH.

>> Eric: WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO COME AWAY FROM WHEN YOU GO TO THE MILL CITY MUSEUM AND SEE IT?

WHAT'S BEEN THE REACTION SO FAR?

>> PEOPLE ARE REALLY ENGAGED WITH THE WORKS.

ALONG WITH THE ARTWORKS, THEY REALLY SPEND A LOT OF TIME, AND IT'S IN THIS ENTRANCE SPACE OF THE MILL CITY MUSEUM THAT PEOPLE CAN, YOU KNOW, OVERLOOK AND GO SEE THE MUSEUM, AND THEY SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH IT.

AND ALSO WITH HE EXHIBIT, WE HAVE A ONDERFUL WEBSITE THAT HAS SOME ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES LIKE AUDIO DESCRIPTION AND WRITTEN DESCRIPTION OF THE EXHIBIT.

SO FOLKS AN HAVE Q.R.

CODES AND READ AND LISTEN TO SOME MORE ABOUT THE EXHIBIT.

AND IF THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO COME IN PERSON TO THE MUSEUM, THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO LOOK AT THE WEBSITE.

SO, YEAH.

>> Cathy: THERE IS THE DISABILITY RIGHTS MOVEMENT, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT FOR JUST A LITTLE BIT HERE.

AND IT'S NOT JUST AS I UNDERSTAND IT MAKING SOCIETY MORE ACCESSIBLE.

IT'S MAKING IT -- SOCIETY MORE INCLUSIVE.

SO I WANT TO KNOW FROM BOTH OF YOU, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE TO YOU?

WHAT DOES THAT FEEL LIKE?

>> SURE, SO I THINK I -- I'LL JUST SAY THAT THE DISABILITY RIGHTS MOVEMENT IS ACTUALLY VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE DISABILITY JUSTICE MOVEMENT.

THEY'RE TWO DIFFERENT FRAMEWORKS BUT THEY'RE VERY SIMILAR, RIGHT?

AND I WOULD SAY THE DISABILITY RIGHTS FRAMEWORK IS PROBABLY WHAT FOLKS ARE MOST FAMILIAR WITH, RIGHT?

YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ACCESS AND COMPLIANCE AND CURB CUTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

A.D.A., EXACTLY.

THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I THINK MOST FOLKS ARE FAMILIAR WITH.

AND DON'T GET ME WRONG.

THE DISABILITY RIGHTS FRAMEWORK IS WONDERFUL.

IT'S BENEFITTED FOLKS WITH DISABILITIES IN SO MANY WAYS.

HOWEVER, DISABILITY JUSTICE ADDRESSES SOME OF THOSE UNDERLYING ISSUES THAT I THINK DISABILITY -- THE DISABILITY RIGHTS FRAMEWORK DOESN'T.

AND THE CENTER OF DISABILITIES JUSTICE IS INTERSECTIONALITY.

AND THE NOTION HERE IS THAT FOLKS WITH DISABILITIES, WE'RE NOT A MONOLITH, RIGHT?

WE ALL COME IN DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES, COLORS, ENDERS, ALL THOSE THINGS, RIGHT?

AND WE HAVE MULTIPLE IDENTITIES THAT MAKE US WHO WE ARE AS HUMANS, RIGHT?

AND SO DISABILITY JUSTICE REALLY ADDRESSES THOSE INTERSECTIONAL IDENTITIES THAT WE HOLD.

AND ALSO MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THOSE IDENTITIES ARE ALSO MARGINALIZED AND OPPRESSED IDENTITIES.

AND SO DISABILITY JUSTICE TAKES IT EVEN DEEPER THAN DISABILITY RIGHTS.

>> Cathy: THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I APPRECIATE HAT.

- ZOE, THEN HOW DOES YOUR ART INTERSECT WITH ALL OF THIS?

WHAT INSPIRES YOUR ART?

ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO THE DISABILITY JUSTICE MOVEMENT?

>> SO FOR THIS EXHIBITION, I PRESENT A PHOTOGRAPH THAT IS PART OF A SERIES, AND THE TITLE IS -- [ SPEAKING WORLD LANGUAGE ] A MEDICATION THAT I AM TALKING FOR AN IMMUNE DISEASE.

AND IT PRESENTS -- IT SHOWS THE COMPLEXITY OF LIVING WITH AN ILLNESS THAT IT'S COMPLETELY INVISIBLE.

BUT REALLY IMPACTS MY LIFE.

AND THE CCESS TO THIS MEDICATION IS PRIVILEGED, BUT IT'S ALSO TAKING A DISABLING TOLL ON MY HEALTH.

AND SO I KIND OF SPEAK ABOUT THIS COMPLEXITY AS WE SAID.

THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF MY IDENTITY AS A WHITE EUROPEAN, NON-BINARY IMMIGRANT, LIVING IN HIS COUNTRY WITH A DISABILITY, THROUGH THIS WORK.

AND I REALLY ADDRESS WHAT IDEAS OF BEAUTY AND PERFECTION AND, YEAH, STANDARDS, QUESTIONS THEM AND EMBRACE THE DISABILITY AESTHETIC THROUGH THIS WORK.

>> Eric: DISABILITY IS LOOKED UPON HASHLY IN THE HMONG COMMUNITY?

OR IS IT KIND OF A TABOO SUBJECT?

>> IT DEFINITELY IS.

AND I THINK IT PROBABLY IS THE SAME IN MANY OTHER CULTURES AS WELL.

AND I THINK THAT THE ART EXHIBITION, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH OUR COMMUNITY THAT DISABILITY IS OKAY, RIGHT?

THAT IT'S NOT A BAD THING.

DISABILITY IS NOT A BAD WORD, RIGHT?

AND, YOU KNOW, ZOE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE TAKE-AWAYS THAT WE HOPE PEOPLE HAVE AFTER THEY SEE THE EXHIBITION.

AND I THINK ONE OF THOSE THINGS IS THAT DISABILITY S A PART OF THE HUMAN CONDITION, RIGHT?

I MEAN, OUR BODIES ARE NOT PERMANENT.

AND AT SOME POINT OR ANOTHER, SOMETHING'S GOING TO GIVE OUT, RIGHT?

AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, DISABILITY -- THROUGH THIS RT EXHIBITION, WE HOPE THAT IT BECOMES LESS TABOO TO TALK ABOUT, THAT WE CAN CHANGE THE NARRATIVE ON DISABILITY AND THAT PEOPLE CAN TALK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLY.

>> Cathy: THE ART LOOKS AMAZING.

SO HOW CAN PEOPLE SEE THIS AND HOW LONG CAN THEY SEE IT?

WHAT ARE THE DATES?

>> SURE.

SO IT'S -- WE HAD A OPENING NIGHT ON JULY 19TH.

AND IT WAS AMAZING.

WE HAD CLOSE TO 300 PEOPLE TURN OUT AT THE MILL CITY MUSEUM THAT NIGHT.

>> Eric: HOW LONG DOES IT RUN?

>> SO THE EXHIBITION WILL RUN UNTIL NOVEMBER 3RD.

AND REGULAR MILL CITY MUSEUM HOURS.

SO I WOULD JUST GO ON THEIR WEBSITE AND TAKE A LOOK AT WHEN THEY'RE VAILABLE FOR PEOPLE TO COME IN.

AND IT'S FREE.

>> Cathy: AND IT'S FREE.

I LOVE THAT.

>> Eric: RIGHT ON THE WATERFRONT, DOWNTOWN