Chapter 1: Disability, Family, Artistry: A Search for Balance and Access

This article features four disabled artists who are parents and center on their balance of artistic practice and family. As a disabled artist considering starting a family and becoming a parent, the question of balancing artistry with a child has been a consistent thought and inquiry. Especially as a disabled artist wrestling with the realities of managing one's bodily needs with a career and personal life, I realize it will be a challenging yet rewarding adjustment. Furthermore, artists often lead atypical work lives with atypical working hours, which can sometimes lend itself to parenting and take away from it in other ways. With the resultant interviews and article, I aim to provide critical insights into practicing disabled artists' viewpoints on parenting, ranging from the challenges to the dividends. I hope these insights will support a singular view of disability parenting and artistry, as well as the Journal's goal of a new paradigm in disability scholarship overall.