Nothing like a little healthy debate... lol

So there is a story behind this post that you need before you can fully understand why this came about.

I was on facebook posting information about my exhibition up on the walls of arts and disability organisations. When I was on the facebook page for the Dont DISS my ABILITY campaign there was a number of post form a person who I will refer to as Miss Black but you can easily go on to this facebook page and see for yourself...lol
Miss Black had been for a number of weeks holding a so called protest about this service tho she cant explain what exactly for and why. I decided to make a comment on one of her post knowing to well that she would target me back and that I had just posted the link to my work up. Bellow is the debate I had with her about my work...

My Post:

Male Female Disabled an exhibition that challenges societies perception of people with disabilities and the use of disabalist language.
Currently showing during the Adelaide Fringe Festival.
For more information and to view and order images please visit
www.mfdisabled.weebly.com
Your feedback is welcome no matter what your opinion :-)

Miss Black

‎@Angela

You state, "I would also like to worn you that some people may find some of the pieces offensive or rude, please understand that this work is meant to create a shock impact be it positive or negative."

Your English is faulty here al...so, it should be 'warn' not 'worn'. And I am wondering why you consider it ok for you to make provocative pieces but not ok for me to do the same? It looks like double standards to me or do you also "have a big chip?"

Why are cashing in on disability to gain attention for your art? Did you receive funding for this?

Angela Kara:

I think its sad that you have to pick on my faulty english that this is the first thing you saw and felt it necessary to target me on it. But if that makes you feel like a bigger person that is fine.

I am picking on societies perception of p...eople with disabilities and the language we use to describe those with disabilities.

You are picking on an already under funded service and trying to use up any time they have on your trivial personal vendetta.

Have you not been around the arts sector or disability arts sector before. Everyone uses there experiences to create there are be it race, education, language, death, love even so called trivial experience. Why should I not use my disability to express myself. and if I get some money for my work is that a bad thing.
I have never profited from my work and resent the fact that you think I dont have the right to make money from my work.
I have never used my disability in fact I have been an exhibiting artist for 4 years and have never used my disability never applied for funding. This is the first time I have used my disability and I have had been holding of on creating this work for years. I have many people push me to create this and I am proud of being able to express myself in this way.

I did not receive any funding for this exhibition and never apply for any all self funded and if you read the page I am actual donating money to a disability service in SA.

Blakk be part of the solution not the problem...

Miss Black:

Looking at your exhibition I can only hope that it was not subsidised by a government grant, ie another waste of taxpayer's funds. One of my objections is to able bodied persons using funding that would be better spent providing real concrete assistance instead of using disability as an advertising technique. If you are not seriously disabled yourself ie with a broken fcking spine then you have no business entering this debate. And for the record, the work is very derivative of Kruger. Nothing original here.

Angela Kara:

OMG you have a serious problem... why would I create work that is about my experience with disability if I didnt have a disability.... that would be ridiculously inappropriate.

If you bothered to read my web page you would understand that my work comes from my disability and that its about society.

Its sad that you feel such resentment toward the world and feel the need to target me.

The government is waiting there money on such things as a tram line new football oval taking away funds from hospitals and your biggest issue is they might have given me money that would of been a waste of funds... PRIORITIES ......

So me attempting to educate society about disabalist language and there treatment of people with disabilities is a bad idea.... is that what your saying? Or you dont approve of the way I chose to get my message across? Maybe an angry letter or harassing disability services on facebook might of been a better way.

I think our government is underfunding the disability sector and am disappointed in them just as much as you.

Thanks for your feedback though your the first person who assumed I must be able bodied and that had 'negative' feedback for me.

Angela Kara:

Whats your Disability? and what services do you use?

Angela Kara

Oh and if you had bothered to read my web page and not just look at the pictures you would of seen that Kruger was my main inspiration to my work and if you knew anything about Kruger you would also know that she uses vintage images in her ...work and her text is opposite colours to what I use.
And I would also like to add that there are no original ideas that anything you can think of has been thought of before...
Everything you are targeting me on here could of easily been answered if you had just read web sight ...

So I find this conversation just amusing she has no real point and all her protest on my work is answered on my web page which she clearly did not read.

Though I did learn one thing about myself when involved in the conversation late last night... When she accused me of being able bodied I was really offended.... lol.... that has to be the first time I have felt such a way I have always wanted to be 'normal' and hated having all these issues but have excepted that this is how it is. When I was accused of being one of those able bodied people who say to you "I understand how you feel" I was mad and was like how dear she accuse me of being normal... how offensive ...lol

This is a big step for me I think I finally feel like I have really excepted who I am and can stand up proud.

If you have any feed back I would love to hear from you.

Evangelia Karageorgos