Finding collections relating to d/Deaf, disabled and neurodiverse people

One of the aims of our project is to make collections relating to d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people more visible – and to share some of the objects our Fellows and Trainees are discovering.

Some will have quite obvious connections to disabled people’s lives – a walking stick, some braille or images of disabled people. But we will also be exploring less obvious connections too. Sometimes the significance of an object is its owner; its part in a bigger story, or the way someone with lived experience of disability has responded to it. In this way we hope to broaden the ways that d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent stories are told.

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HAREBRAINED (Artwork)

2023

This embroidered linen piece - depicting the head of a hare, with a clockface stitched within the eye - was created by co-producer Hannah Holden for display in the co-curated gallery trail "Nothing Without Us: Experiences of Disability" at the Pitt Rivers Museum, curated by Kyle Lewis Jordan, running from 16th November 2023 - 6th...

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Rights information: Copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Description

This embroidered linen piece - depicting the head of a hare, with a clockface stitched within the eye - was created by co-producer Hannah Holden for display in the co-curated gallery trail "Nothing Without Us: Experiences of Disability" at the Pitt Rivers Museum, curated by Kyle Lewis Jordan, running from 16th November 2023 - 6th October 2024.

Inspired by objects in the collection, especially 1931.32.1, an Ancient Peruvian information system called quipu or khipu made of tallies, currently displayed near to Harebrained in Writing and Communication. Harebrained illustrates Hannah’s feelings of distress without access to a timekeeping device (the eye of the hare depicts a clockface), and how she uses repetitive tasks like embroidery and creating tallies in order to calm herself.

Community curation: I made this embroidered hare to represent both the calming effect of tactile work and the distress I experience without access to a timekeeping device. Roman numerals suggesting a clockface are only just perceptible in the hare’s eye. Autistic people often rely on routine to maintain a sense of control in a world that can otherwise be sensorially overwhelming. Embroidery, wirework and other tactile activities are a fantastic help when I am trying to decompress after dealing with overstimulating environments. - Hannah H, Museum Enjoyer

Meet our Fellows and Trainees

The Curating for Change project is running eight Fellowships over 18 months and eight Traineeships over 40 days based across 20 partner museums. Learn more about our Fellows and Trainees here.

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