Meet A. Laura Brody

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful A. Laura Brody. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with A. Laura below.

Hi A. Laura, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
My good friend Rebecca Niederlander just wrote me a grant recommendation, and in it she said that I approach my artistic life with an optimism that is rare. (Thanks, Rebecca!) I am not entirely sure where that optimism first began, but some of it is my nature, and the rest came a decision from almost 20 years ago. After a long period of feeling stagnant, frustrated, and stuck (in relationships, in career, and in my life) and after a very serious family breakup, I decided to re-examine myself and keep the things I wanted and leave the rest behind. Of course, that is easier said than done, but I meant it.

Once I took the time to reflect, I discovered that there were real aspects of me that I liked and wanted to cultivate, and other things had to be left behind. Part of that a decision to choose the side of hope and action, instead of cynicism and bitterness. For years, I had thought that being a cynic meant people were more worldly wise than I was, but over time it was clear that it wasn’t true. Their bitterness came from disappointment and fear, and I didn’t want that for myself. Once that decision was made, I realized that so much of my life wasn’t lining up with what I wanted to be. Several relationships had to go, and I started out to figure out what I wanted my life to look like. It was terrifying and made for a lot of strange pitfalls, but ultimately it made it possible for me to discover myself as an artist, a curator, a producer, and someone who deeply loves life, justice, and community.

Even now, when things are horribly difficult, I make every effort I can to choose hope and action over despair.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am the founder of Opulent Mobility, an annual, international art exhibit that asks artists and audience members to re-imagine disability as opulent and powerful. My vision is a world where disability is celebrated instead of denied, ignored, and feared. Each year Opulent Mobility puts out a new a call for art that brings in artists from across the country and around the world. This year I expanded into weekly online programming with the community lecture series Genius Teatime and an online Plague Wear Gala that asked artists to develop their own high style plague repellent designs.

This year, Opulent Mobility will be both in person at the Los Angeles Makery in Little Tokyo and online on the website. All the artists are being interviewed, and the videos of those interviews will be captioned and have ASL interpretation. They will go up on the Opulent Mobility website starting in mid December 2023, the online exhibit will go up December 23, and the show opens January 7, 2024 and runs through January 28th. Please join us and check the website for details!

I am also offering Opulent Mobility as a touring exhibit, and am more than halfway through writing a book about the exhibits and artists for next year’s 10th anniversary show in the Fall of 2024. I am excited to research and write about other disability art exhibits and the methods that they use to make them more accessible to Deaf, Blind, and neurodivergent audiences. At least one in four people are disabled in some way, maybe one in three for BIPOC people; and disability can and will affect us at any time. Opulent Mobility asks us to acknowledge that fact, celebrate it, and increase accessibility so that we can be truly inclusive and equitable.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
What a great question! For me, the qualities were having a vision of what I wanted, having the humility to realize how much I didn’t know and the willingness to learn, and pure stubbornness when it came to dealing with setbacks. When people tell me I can’t, I will find a way to prove them wrong. I am not always clear on the specifics, but I am really good at finding a way and following where the next question leads.

Those things will get to where you want to go. That, and being willing to look like a total dork.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Collaboration is my lifeblood, and community makes such a big difference to me! Coming from a theatrical background, I love collaboration, and try to seek it out wherever I can. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t translate as well in the art and curatorial world, which is unfortunate. We really need one another, and creating an artistic community is one of the best ways we can thrive together. And to be honest, I have a tendency to take on too much, so some help would be most welcome. These exhibits and projects are a serious labor of love.

I would truly love to find collaborators who are passionate about disability arts and inclusion. Video artists and editors, ASL interpreter groups, and disabled artists- please get in touch! I encourage folks to share their art in future Opulent Mobility exhibits and projects and talk about how we can create better accessibility in the arts world. Get in touch through opulentmobility.com on or Instagram at @opulentmobility.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Flyer design by Bronte Grimm, painting by Rachel Ungerer Opulent Mobility 2021 photos by Heidi Marie Photography

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