Introducing Deepen* - a collab with Auckland Pride
Plus: A show by two "neurospicy girlies" and back to work advice when you're chronically ill
Nau mai, haere mai. Welcome to 2024 ✴️ The D*List team are very excited to begin the year by introducing Deepen* - a new programme in partnership with Auckland Pride Festival. Led by our kaimahi Beth Awatere and Pelenakeke Brown, the kaupapa highlights queer, disabled artists and their artistry. Deepen* includes a compelling content series, immersive poetry and a series of bespoke dinners, hosted by our artists as we acknowledge that queer spaces are not always accessible. Stay tuned for more content coming out soon…
I hope you’ve had a replenishing festive season and holiday. However, for me, I’m never taking a break learning about my own internalised ableism 🙃
With Tāmaki Makaurau finally getting some nice sunny weather this summer, a few friends and I have had regular jogs/rolls along Mission Bay. Last Friday, my friend suggested a swim afterwards and as much as I love being in water, getting into the actual ocean is not as easy as just quickly dipping in and out when you use a wheelchair. So as we were pacing our way along Tāmaki Drive, I kept an eye on the tide to see how close it came in - the less sand I have to get over, the easier. Whether I was gonna crawl through the sand, try to push through it in my chair or my friends carrying me, it was going to look awkward - or so my internalised ableism was telling me that.
As we neared the end of our jog, the sweat dripping down my back indicated I really needed a swim to cool down - and my care for what other people thought decreased. We found a spot at Okahu Bay that wasn’t so crowded (so maybe I did still care a little bit…) and my friends just carried me into the water like it wasn’t even a problem they had been internalising, like I had been, for the past hour. And I enjoyed a blissful and replenishing swim ☀️
Hollywood is in the midst of awards season, and two headlines caught my eye this week. All the Light We Cannot See star Aria Mia Loberti and her guide dog Miss Ingrid were at the Golden Globes, with the canine being the first guide dog on that red carpet. “This is the first time in history we’ve had authentic representation for a character in a film of this size,” Loberti said of the film. “It was my honour to represent my community and my culture. It’s never been done before, and that’s a really big responsibility.”
And actress Christina Applegate joked about her disability in front of the Academy Awards audience when they gave her a standing ovation. “Thank you so much! Oh my God! You’re totally shaming me [and my] disability by standing up,” Applegate said. We’ve all joked about our disabilities to our non-disabled friends, but I have a feeling that audience didn’t quite get it…
The Wheel Blacks have also been in the news this week in the lead up to the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games qualifications. Wheel Blacks athlete and coach Gavin Rolton said the team were ready to put up a good fight for the final spots at the Paralympic Games.
This week, Aotearoa’s parliament lost one of its very few (if any) disabled politicians Golriz Gharahman, who has been open about living with Multiple Sclerosis. The Spinoff’s Madeleine Chapman wrote about how parliament is “no friend to women or people of colour”, many of us would agree this would also ring true to the disabled community.
How have you been? What’s something that has given you joy this summer? If going back to work or uni has been a struggle, know you’re not alone! D*List contributor Melissa Irving has written up some tips and tricks that help her balance study and living with a chronic illness. You can check it out here.
I also got to speak with Jamie Wise and Charlie Scott, the “neurospicy girlies” behind Mad Like Me, a "comedy-ish" podcast about mental health. We chatted about their upcoming live shows around Aotearoa. Click here to listen to the interview or read the transcript.
✨ In Tāmaki Makaurau, Tash van Schaardenburg and Ari Kerssens have produced a collaborative sound art piece called 4 Feet in the Dark. It considers the ableist architectures of everyday life alongside the soulful empowerment of embracing the disabled experience through the lens of blindness. The event only runs from 31 January to 1 February. Find out more or reserve your free ticket here.
✊🏼 On 7 March, Access Matters Aotearoa and other disability groups will be marching to Parliament in support of strong accessibility legislation. In preparation for the march, a planning meeting will be held on Wednesday 24 January at 2pm via Zoom. If you have ideas or want to learn more, you can register for the Zoom meeting here.
Catch you next week ✌️
- Olivia Shivas, Editor
