CRIPPING PERFORMANCE

The first outlines of this issue of Maska were drawn some time ago, when thinking about the (in)accessibility of our field of endeavour, which was also closely connected to considerations about the limited outreach of the printed journal in question. With a slight but noticeable and important increase in the presence of artists with disabilities in artistic lead positions and performers, which is a result of continuous activism, knowledge that is important to share in the field of performing arts and beyond has been accumulated. For one, it is a way of sensitising what has become a fast-paced routine of art production practice in the ableist framework, which hardly ever has the time to slow down and notice the different needs and wellbeing of everyone included. But foremost, it is valuable on its own, as it develops the tools to build an open and more accessible society, and Maska is dedicated to sharing the knowledge with its readers.

The decision to invite Saša Asentić, non-disabled choreographer, researcher and cultural worker, whose practice operates at the inter-section of contemporary dance, performance, and disability arts, to contribute to this issue, seemed a logical next step. Because of Saša’s exceptional network and commitment to creating conditions for disability-centered work and a culture of anti-ableist solidarity, the invitation expanded to that of coediting the issue and a promise of a sequence. This decision follows the concept of Crip time in the preparation of the issue, by giving the time that is necessary to meet different access needs and it is Maska’s commitment to creating spaces for knowledge, practice, and experience that come from the lived experience of disability. In the first issue, we wanted to give space to neurodivergent, disabled, and Deaf artists, scholars, and activists.

In Cripping Performance, we refer to the understanding of cripping as articulated by Robert McRuer, who examines it as a way of exposing, challenging, and destabilising – or resisting – compulsory able-bodiedness and able-mindedness in culture, discourse, and society. We also draw on Alison Kafer’s discussion of reclaiming the term Crip for its political potential to transform current understandings of disability in relation to justice and more equitable futures. And, most of all, we build on the ways in which the invited contributors relate to the political term and identity of Crip.