Disability is powerful and beautiful!
Project Amplify provides support for those ready to develop an element of their rich lives: to share their creativity with the world, deepen their understanding of a skill or subject, or explore their love for a new activity.
Read more about Project Amplify below
These are the amazing things our community members are creating and sharing!
Colorful geometric painting illustration with bright red, green, orange and blue. The shape within the artwork is abstract and has similar shapes to hearts, flowers and eyes.
Zina Allen Art
Zina Allen (she/they/Z) is a Corvallis artist and poet. Their art is an outlet and a way for them to create while living with disabilities. They are inspired by the concept of social symbiotic relationships and the idea that equity is possible. Their work joins layers and different ways of seeing things to represent the complexities they observe not just in their own life and the world around them. They work as an architect, designer and wellness and equity ambassador at the Disability Equity Center. Zina recently received the Paul Harris Fellow award from the National Rotarians for their multiple volunteer efforts.
Illustration of a human figure, outlined in black, red, orange and yellow. The figure has a round head with hair falling on both sides of its neck. The figure has wavy lines coming off each side of it, like wings. Behind the figure are mixtures of red, black and orange color.
Dan Jarvis-Holland
My name is Dan Jarvis-Holland. I am an artist from Portland Oregon. I use he/him/his pronouns. I like to draw weird creatures that are monster-like. I love making art about anime, cartoons, superheroes, and sci-fi outer space.
Music is my first language. Art is community. Art is my life saver. When people see my art its an unbreakable moment. When I make my art I feel a key and I feel like an Avenger. I want people to see my powerful powers of art.
A pink crochet lobster with a white chef’s hat holds a white bowl in its right claw. In the bowl is an orange carrot with a green top. The lobster has black shiny eyes and nose, and sits on a teal blanket with a dark background.
Mareike Mirsch
Cromika works with whatever materials she has on hand. She began crocheting when she was nine years old. Now, with twenty years of experience and her volunteer role at Mecca in Eugene, she now has access to more fun and frivolous embellishments. She likes the fun of the go-with-the-flow nature of having access to scrap yarns both from Mecca and Goodwill: “it’s a surprise grab-bag, you never know what you’re going to end up with”. The freedom of expression that comes from the chaotic choices available is part of the magic that makes these crochet creatures, garments and work of art distinctly Cromika.
Disability Justice: An Everyday Pursuit in Survival
KBOO radio show hosted by John and Dena; a monthly show interviewing people within the disability community
Airs every first Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Listen to Kate’s Interview with Disability Justice:
About Project Amplify
Disability Equity Center’s Project Amplify advances community equity by seeking out and enhancing the passions and talents of disabled people and centering the often unheard voices of disabled people in our community who hold multiply underrepresented identities of disabled people of color and/or LGBTQIA+ folks. Our low-barrier opportunity fund for disabled folks in the mid-Willamette Valley of Oregon, Project Amplify is designed to meet access needs and support arts and wellness opportunities. The program asks: What is your dream? What materials do you need? What barriers are in your way?
For example, in its pilot phase the program funded the website start-up costs for a local Black, disabled artist/poet to bring better visibility to her incredible work and market her online store, as well as the funded technical software for a disabled podcaster of color to be able to start cultivating her podcast series. In December 2022, Project Amplify worked with a young queer woman with Down syndrome to record her first studio album?
Funded projects also offer folks beyond the disability community a better understanding of the experience of living in Oregon as a disabled person: that it exists beyond basic needs (though vital) and contains much beauty!
Contact us to learn more about Project Amplify or to get involved with DEC.