We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the place now called South Australia, and all First Peoples living and working on this land. We celebrate the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture and pay respect to Elders – past, present and future. We acknowledge Kaurna, Peramangk and Ngadjuri peoples on whose lands our events and activities are imagined, planned and held. This always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

About Disjunction

Find out more about Disjunction. What is it and who is it for?

Tutti Artist Lorcan Hopper

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What’s Disjunction?

We made Disjunction so people can talk about disability arts and contemporary arts.

disability arts mean disabled artists in charge of the artwork they make.

contemporary art means artwork that is being made now.

We want to know what happens when disabled artist create art with non-disabled artists.

Learning disabled and neurodivergent artists are at the centre of Disjunction. 

Learning disabled means people who take longer to learn. It includes people with:

    • Downs Syndrome
    • Williams Syndrome
    • Global Development Delay
    • FASDs

Neurodivergent means autistic people. It also includes people with:

    • ADAH
    • Dyslexia
    • Dyspraxia
    • Tourettes

We stand with the wider community of Deaf and disabled artists.

Disjunction is an ally friendly space.

ally means supporter.

We say hi and welcome to non-disabled allies!

We’re calling this a ‘living publication’.

living publication means we will add more articles so we can keep having conversations.

We want disjunction to be a space where we can:

  • Share new projects and ideas
  • Find out the barriers for disabled artists in contemporary arts.
  • Find new ways of working
  • Make change to include learning disabled and neurodivergent artists in Contemporary Arts

Why is it called Disjunction?

In English, the word ‘disjunction’ means: difference.

We choose the word Disjunction to show the difference between disability arts and contemporary arts.  

Learning disabled and neurodivergent artists can be excluded from contemporary arts.  

We want to see Learning disabled and neurodivergent artists included in Contemporary Arts.

From the team

Fiona Tuomy is a disabled writer and advocate. Fiona worked as a writer and a producer on Disjunction. 

Fiona said:

We made Disjunction so people can talk about how the best ways to include disabled artists in Contemporary Arts.

It is important for Tutti Arts to be involved in this conversation.

Tutti Arts Vision: Learning disabled and neurodivergent people seize their rightful place at the centre of arts and culture.

Disjunction was started with our Reaching Out exhibitions.

We want to have professional pathways for all Tutti artists.

Gaelle Mellis, is a disabled artist. Gaelle is the Creative Director, Tutti Arts. Gaelle said:

Reaching Out made her think.

She thought about how disabled and non-disabled people can work in a fair and equal way.

How do Major Cultural Institutions work with the Reaching Out artists in a fair and equal way.

Major Cultural Institutions means a large organisation that collects art work and other things they think is important to our culture.

Access Manifesto

This section talks about why access is important and what access is on Disjunction.

Disjunction access:

  • Easy Read versions of written articles
  • Plain English summaries for written articles
  • Alt text for images for people who are Blind
  • You can listen to an article.
  • You can listen or read podcasts
  • FS Me Font throughout site. FS Me Font was designed for and by learning disabled people.
  • Videos have captions and audio description

If you have any questions about access you should contact us by visiting disjunction.art/about/contact-us.

Disjunction is a disability-led platform expanding the field of contemporary arts.
It is created by Tutti Arts.

What is Disjunction?

Disjunction aims to bring the contemporary art world into generative dialogue with disability arts practice.

Its focus is on creative encounters between disabled and non-disabled artists, through:

  • collaborations
  • commissions
  • exhibition-making

It’s also a place for these artists to explore their relationships with critics and institutions. What dynamics are at play, and how can we redress and improve them?

Disjunction aims to:

  • Actively centre learning disabled and neurodiverse artists
  • Work in solidarity with the wider community of Deaf and disabled artists
  • Be an ally friendly space, welcoming the allyship of non-disabled people

We’re calling this a ‘living publication’. This means it’s a space for continuing, critical conversations. About how these worlds can equitably involve each other.

Our aim is for Disjunction to become a place to build on what’s come before – and what’s coming next. Our purpose is to drive meaningful change. To identify and remove barriers in the mainstream. To make a new reality where learning disabled and neurodiverse artists can have thriving professional careers.

Image description goes here. This will have sufficient space so that the description can be as long and detailed as required.
Kurt Bosecke and Emmaline Zanelli deliver their Nutritional Index tour at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Photo by Thomas McCammon

Why is it called Disjunction?

In English, the word ‘disjunction’ means:

  • a separation
  • a difference
  • a lack of consistency between two things

This word reflects what we have often witnessed in the relationship between the contemporary art and disability arts worlds.

We would like to experience and contribute to a culture where that disjunction – and therefore this platform, Disjunction – may no longer necessarily exist.

From the team

Disjunction as a provocation is an invitation to expand the field of contemporary arts to be fully inclusive of Deaf and disabled artists. Particularly to centre learning disabled and neurodiverse artists. Disjunction is a disability-led platform engaging disabled writers and artists to lead critical discourse. To explore disability arts practice and as a role of disruption in contemporary arts. Disjunction as a project is a conversation about a conversation. We acknowledge from the outset; we want to circumvent a way forward. Trying to address issues that can stall a project from evolving. As a Tutti Arts project, Disjunction aligns with the Vision of the organisation.

Tutti Arts Vision: Learning disabled and neurodiverse people seize their rightful place at the centre of arts and culture.

An entry point for Disjunction is the Reaching Out exhibition model. A fundamental premise of Reaching Out is to embed the practices of Tutti visual artists in the contemporary arts sector, expanding pathways for learning-disabled artists to participate in professional exhibition opportunities and to enter into major cultural collections. Reaching Out also provides these same professional pathways for participating non-disabled artists.

Fiona Tuomy, writer/producer, Disjunction

As a curatorial project, Reaching Out (artist partnerships and artistic outcomes) raises critical questions regarding the ethics of collaboration and exchange between learning-disabled and non-disabled artists: what constitutes best practice; how might major cultural organisations ethically engage, situate, or frame these creative partnerships?

Gaelle Mellis, Creative Director, Tutti Arts