Music as a Tool for Disability Activism

The relationship between disability and music/the arts has been documented in various disability activism movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In the domain of Critical Disability Studies (CDS), scholars have explored the different stages of disability activism in our society. In this article, I explain how CDS has changed the vision of disability thanks to artistic initiatives, and how different models of disability differ in relation to arts and culture. I give an overview of disability activism in the arts more generally and in music in particular. Events that have impacted disability inclusion in the professional music world are given as examples. I enhance my study with narratives of disabled musicians I have interviewed.