Artists+Activism: Disability and the Arts

Join MMFA Development Assistant Cassandra Cavness as she hosts a panel discussion on disability and the arts featuring Katy Menne (she/her), Curator of Education at North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport, textile artist Marquetta Johnson, and designer, educator, and activist Jennifer White-Johnson.

This two-hour-long discussion will cover topics such as the barriers that disabled artists face in the art world, the need for art in all lives, creating a more inclusive space, and the advocacy efforts that people can be involved in.

Katy Menne

Katy earned her BA in History and Masters in Teaching Secondary Social Studies at the University of South Carolina. Since 2011 she has been teaching in formal and informal settings. She joined the staff at NC Maritime Museum at Southport in 2018 as the Curator of Education where started inclusion and diversity initiatives, spearheaded the museum becoming the first Certified Autism Center in the state of North Carolina, and has earned the distinction of Certified Educator by the National Geographic. Menne was the 2020 recipient of the Southeastern Museum Conference’s Emerging Museum Professional Award.

Marquetta Johnson

Marquetta is a Textile Artist and Quilter living in Stone Mountain Georgia. She has been pursuing a career as a professional artist living with a disability for over 20 years. Marquetta is also a Teaching Artist presenting inclusive arts-integrated programming for students K-12th grade, Young Adults, and Seniors.

Jennifer White-Johnson

Jen is an Afro-Latina, disabled designer, educator, and activist, whose visual work explores the intersection of content and caregiving with an emphasis on redesigning ableist visual culture. She’s worked within disability design advocacy initiatives with companies like Converse, Twitter, Google, and Nike. Her activist work has been featured in The Washington Post, AfroPunk, and is permanently archived at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.