Recently I’ve been thinking about social networks as a space for self-representation and/or artistic expression. This is largely a result of taking an art history and new media course this semester, and trying to figure out how to bring in media studies and my own interests. But, I’ve found Flickr to be a really interesting place to start thinking about PWD using online services and digital media to create art/representation and to share it in a pseudo-gallery space.

Several Flickr groups have been interesting jumping-off points – Blind Photographers, for instance, is a small group, but one that explicitly asks “How does having a different visual experience affect our photography?” !Rock That Disability! is another interesting (and much larger) group. Photos here include both those taken by PWD and those taken of PWD and assistive devices. The group also seems to have an active community forming. And, of course, there are tons of gorgeous, interesting and moving photos to browse through. Wheelchairs, Disability Arts Around the Globe and Disability History all also offer some interesting images and communities. The photo with this post is from the Disability History pool, posted by the Library of Congress, and depicts a turn-of-the-century woman using a dictaphone – in a written caption, she’s identified as a “blind stenographer.” Just another reminder of how assistive devices have always been with us and served both PWD and others who needed dictation machinery.