Title of Project: Engaging with a Public Disability-Centered Art Exhibition

Contact information for the study team can be found on the form linked below.

This research study seeks to better understand how public audiences interpret and understand disability as well as how educational art encounters may help audiences critically understand disability and ableism by analyzing participant responses to prompts initiated by the public art exhibition, “Access(ing) Intimacy: An Archive of Chronic Illness,” showing November 10, 2025-November 21, 2025 in the Borland Project Space (BPS).

KEY INFORMATION
The following is a short summary of this study to help you decide whether or not to be a part of this research. If you have any questions, be sure to ask the study team.

Why am I being invited to take part in this research study?
We are asking you to take part in this voluntary research study because we want to understand your perspective on disability by engaging with a public disability-centered art exhibition.

What is the purpose of this research study?
The purpose of this voluntary research study is to understand social perceptions of disability and ableism and to gain insights from participants’ engagement with a public disability-centered art exhibition.

How long will the research study last?
Participants can expect to spend 15-30 minutes of their time responding to prompts, or longer if they have more detailed responses.

What will I need to do?
Potential participants visiting the “Access(ing) Intimacy: An Archive of Chronic Illness,” will be asked to respond to open-ended prompts in the gallery or online and engage in short reflective writing about the exhibition themes.

What are the main risks of taking part in the study?
For this study, the potential risks to subjects include potential discomfort for students recruited through courses, who may feel pressured to participate. However, with anonymized submissions online, both the PI and course instructors will have no way of knowing who participated in the study. The loss of confidentiality is also a potential risk when conducting human subject research.

What are the possible benefits to me that may reasonably be expected from being in the research?
We cannot promise any benefits to you from taking part in this study. However, engaging in study will ask you to critically examine ability, disability access, and interrogate implicit ableism, potentially allowing you to be more critical about ableism and empathetic to the disability community. Results of the study may benefit other people in the future by helping us to better understand how participants interpret and understand disability as well as how educational art encounters may help audiences critically discuss disability and ableism.

What happens if I do not want to be in this research?
Participation in research is completely voluntary. You can decide to participate or not to participate. You may choose not to take part in this research study or withdraw your participation at any time.

By responding to the form linked below, you are agreeing to participate in this research study. You may skip any questions you do not want to answer.

To Participate in this study, click on the survey (open-ended prompts) link here.