Uprising final presentation

Brenna Curley and India Adam
1 / 20

India:

Uprising: A wearable that captures strength, kindness, and flight in an interactive piece designed for Sabrina, a dancer and wheelchair user. The structure of the piece has six half-heart shapes in different sized that are mounted, three to each shoulder.

 Many people with disabilities are ignored and not represented in the dance and performance world. Our piece is designed specifically for use in a wheelchair while showing the beauty and strength of the performer. 

Sabrina had tetanus that caused nerve damage, leaving her unable to walk. She works hard at physical therapy to reconnect the nerves and walk again. The wearable is designed to empower her and represent her journey from going to sitting to standing. The wearable highlights Sabrina's strength and power that she exudes every day. The three acrylic half-heart pieces are attached to 3D printed slots that stabilize them and have straps adhering them to the arm. The straps are located at the top of the shoulders and right above the elbow. The overall effect creates a light and uplifting feeling. The location and design of the project allow Sabrina to perform and dance with enhancers rather than restrictions. The location of the upper arms is used the accentuate her silhouette as she performs. 

Brenna: 

This wearable is meant for a woman named Sabrina, who is one of Heidi Latsky's dancers. She is in a wheelchair and has a very personal journey regarding her disability.  She is currently living in the Bronx and working as a peer mentor for those who are also disabled. She is kind, has a passion for helping people, and has an immense amount of strength that has helped her throughout her journey.

 Sabrina's Wearable is meant to show off her personal strength, resilience, and kindness. It is meant to showcase her journey and how she came to accept her disability. It showcases the struggles she went through, and how she was able to overcome them using her strength while still keeping her softness and kindness. It shows this by overlaying a mix of hard and soft materials, such as fabric and acrylic, as well as an abstracted wing shape to represent her as a phoenix. The shapes could also be seen as halves of hearts, which also showcases her kindness and her big heart. The piece It attaches to the arm using fabric straps and also uses many mechanisms that attach to the arm and stabilize the acrylic pieces. Sabrina will be able to bend it and manipulate it during the performance as she likes. It's perfectly bendable and manipulatable, due to it being split up and unrestricting. Sabrina's wearable is a piece of art that accurately represents and showcases her story while also being flexible and easily usable.