Art Wanted: Re-Imagining of Wheelchairs

For the artists of the world itching to work on a wheelchair project that may get noticed by big names in the art world, a juried gallery show at the Bell Arts Factory in Ventura, CA may be just the opportunity you were looking for, or at the very least, a cool opportunity to showcase your skills as an artist.

The show is called Opulent Mobility and it’s a show devoted to re-imagining mobility and disability. What they’re looking for is an artistic re-imagining of a wheelchair, walker, crutches, prosthetic, etc. They want the re-imagining to be something you can hang on your wall too – a drawing, painting, digital work, photograph or multi-media project; not an actual real-life representation…..which by the way will definitely save the artist a few bucks.

And when they say re-imagining, the idea is to re-think how a wheelchair should look, or perhaps infuse an idea or dream you had about a wheelchair and bring it to life in art. Perhaps you could add a super-power to a wheelchair, or simply make a walker look cooler. Anything pimped-out, more luxe, more beautiful, cutting-edge, technology-based; anything out of the box.

And the end goal of the show – to start a conversation about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to mobility devices, which by the way is a conversation that could happen a lot more. I love that this project is doing just that.

And the woman behind the project is A. Laura Brody, an awesomely experienced costume designer. She recently created an Edwardian Cyborg Wheelchair dubbed “Driven” (pictured above), and images of this fancy-looking wheelchair were included in Dr. Grymm’s 1000 Steampunk Creations.

If you’d like to take a whack at this very cool project you have until August 19th, 2013. Submissions for Opulent Mobility can only be submitted via email, which you can do so here.

Make sure to include a paragraph describing the work and a photograph of it as well. Artists whose work is chosen will be notified by email. And just in case you were wondering, what you “win” by being selected is the opportunity to include your piece in the show, but that’s enough if you ask me.

By showing it in this awesome show, which will be Sept. 6th – 8th, 2013, you will have the opportunity to sell your piece. List it at whatever price you choose; if it sells Bell Arts Factory will take typical 30% cut.

So there you have it – an art show finally asking artists to blow the lid off the typical wheelchair/walker/prosthetic design. Gosh I hope these designs end up online when the show comes to a close.

Visit show’s site: Opulent Mobility

How do you think mobility devices could be re-imagined?