A closeup of a person touching a tactile prin. There is an electrical effect under the person's finger.

About the Founder

DisabledArt.com was founded by Ted Tahquechi, a disabled artist, photographer, and accessibility advocate whose work spans visual art, tactile photography, and inclusive creative practice.

Ted’s experience navigating the art world as a disabled artist informs the values behind DisabledArt.com, but the site itself is not a personal portfolio or platform. It exists to create space for disabled artists of all kinds, working across disciplines, to be seen and taken seriously for their work.

Through years of creative practice, collaboration with cultural institutions, and advocacy around accessibility in the arts, Ted has seen firsthand how often disabled artists are excluded from visibility, exhibition, and meaningful critical conversation. DisabledArt.com was created as a response to that gap, grounded in respect, curiosity, and celebration rather than charity or spectacle.

Ted’s role is to guide the editorial direction and support the platform’s mission. The focus of DisabledArt.com remains where it belongs, on disabled artists, their work, and the creative cultures they shape.

You can see more of Ted’s work at www.tahquechi.com

Ted, a middle aged blind man with a long white goatee is smiling and has his arm around his black lab guide dog fauna

About DisabledArt.com

DisabledArt.com is a cultural and editorial platform dedicated to celebrating disabled artists and the work they create.

This site exists because disabled artists have always been here, making powerful, thoughtful, challenging, joyful work, often without the visibility or recognition afforded to their non-disabled peers. DisabledArt.com was created to help change that, not through charity or spectacle, but through consistent, respectful storytelling.

We focus on artists first. Medium, process, intention, and creative voice come before labels. Disability is part of the conversation when it is relevant and self-defined, but it is never treated as a novelty, a limitation, or a narrative shortcut.

What You’ll Find Here

DisabledArt.com publishes:

  • Artist profiles and interviews that focus on creative practice, influences, and intent

  • Articles and features highlighting disabled artists, exhibitions, movements, and moments that matter

  • Educational resources for artists, educators, institutions, and allies interested in accessibility and inclusion in the arts

  • Thoughtful coverage that treats disabled art as part of the broader cultural landscape, not a separate category on the sidelines

Over time, the site will also host an online gallery designed to give disabled artists long-term visibility for their work, not fleeting exposure.

Who This Site Is For

DisabledArt.com is for:

  • Disabled artists working in any medium

  • Educators teaching art to disabled students or inclusive classrooms

  • Curators, institutions, and arts organizations seeking better models for inclusion

  • Allies who want to engage with disabled art thoughtfully and responsibly

It is not a shop.
It is not a fundraising platform.
It is not a personal portfolio.

It is a shared space built to support a community.

How We Approach Disability and Art

We do not frame disability as something to be overcome in order for art to matter.

We believe disability shapes creative practice in meaningful ways, just as culture, history, environment, and identity do. Disabled artists are not inspirational because of disability, they are compelling because of the work they make.

Accessibility, in our view, is not a box to check. It is a creative practice that expands who gets to participate in art as makers, viewers, and thinkers.

A Living Project

DisabledArt.com is a growing, evolving platform. Language changes. Culture changes. Our understanding deepens over time.

We are committed to listening, learning, and adapting, guided by the disabled artists and communities this site exists to support.

Why This Matters

Visibility shapes opportunity.

When disabled artists are seen, written about, taught, and remembered as artists, not exceptions, the cultural record becomes more accurate, more inclusive, and more honest.

That is the work of DisabledArt.com.

 

“Not every mind or body will experience art the same way. But every mind and body is entitled to the experience.“

— National Endowment for the Arts