Meet the Jurors
|
Ashanti FortsonAshanti Fortson is an award-winning cartoonist, illustrator, editor, and professor with a deep love for kind stories and fantastical settings. Their work explores transience and reflection through a tenderhearted lens, themes of disability and chronic illness, and life's co-existing beauty and grief. Their work has been published by Bitch Magazine, DC Comics, Abrams Books, The New York Times, Longreads, and more. They’re currently working on their debut graphic novel, Cress & Petra (HarperCollins), and they teach comics and illustration on the side. They're the spider-saving sort.
|
|
Deb BushyI was born in Madison, Wisconsin in the 1960’s. I grew up enjoying the natural world that surrounded my childhood home. I learned to appreciate conservation and preservation of nature early in my upbringing. I started to create art as a child, drawing figures, creating simple Origami and painting simple pictures.
As an artist and creator, I created art as an answer for many of my emotional difficulties that some label as a disability; it is not my label. As far as I’m concerned art and disability do not conflict. Art is the saving grace for my setbacks. Art allows me to have many abilities: Photography, painting and drawing to name a few. I feel so much gratitude to Access to Independence for treating artists like myself with so much compassion and respect. My “symptoms” are not visible, so for much of my life experience I do not come forward with disclosing my disability. I feel such a comfort level when I’m able to be seen as a whole. My hope for the future of art is we see all artists as abled and all art worthy of showing with pride and accomplishment. Art is about all abilities, all emotion and inclusion of everyone. |
|
Sara MeredithSara Meredith, an artist going by Smere Tactics, creates bold interdisciplinary artwork including small mixed media accessories, large scale painted relief cut wood panels and prints, and larger immersive art installations that invite exploration. She has been a practicing artist for 20+ years exhibiting in several local and regional galleries, markets and small businesses in the Midwest. She has taught a range of art classes for all ages in collaboration with many non- profits and other local small businesses. Communication, an all ages sober arts+ music non profit in Madison, is her home away from home where she helps run day to day operations with an all volunteer team that focuses on building accessible and COVID conscious community with artists, musicians and other creatives.
|
