Riva Lehrer (b. 1958) is a celebrated painter, writer, teacher, speaker, and activist. Lehrer was born with spina bifida, a “birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy.” Her art focuses on physical identity and the socially challenged body, especially in explorations of cultural depictions of disability. Lehrer is author of the book Golem Girl: A Memoir.
Quote: “Everything changes when, as an adult, Riva is invited to join a group of artists, writers, and performers who are building Disability Culture. Their work is daring, edgy, funny, and dark — it rejects tropes that define disabled people as pathetic, frightening, or worthless. They insist that disability is an opportunity for creativity and resistance.”
— Goodreads
Sources: Wikipedia, Goodreads
Learn more about Riva Lehrer on Wikipedia. >>
Watch “Disability and the Arts with Riva Lehrer” [9:53]. >>
Watch “Riva Lehrer: A Self-Portrait in Formaldehyde” [42:43]. >>
Photo: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
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