Disability pride and joy in an ableist world
Marlene Krubner collected testimonials of disability joy to show how disabled people can find joy in things in an ableist world. There is a fine line between ‘overcoming disability’-vibes and disability pride. As Marlene said: “We have similar experiences, even people with completely different types of disabilities. Somehow that connects us, and that's a big part of disability pride and disability joy.” She also led an art workshop for disabled people called “Between joy and rage” to explore disability joy and rage as a response to ableism artistically.
I collect testimonials of disability joy through interviews and an art workshop, to show how disabled people can find joy in things in an ableist world. There is a fine line between ‘overcoming disability’-vibes and disability pride. We have similar experiences, even people with completely different disabilities. That connects us and is a big part of disability pride and joy.
A collage of disability joy and disability pride
Below you can view Marlene Krubner's collage that consists of statements of disability joy and disability pride collected from people with different disabilities in Austria as well as of artwork which was created in an art workshop held by Marlene in Vienna in February 2026, and of Marlene’s own thoughts and notes on disability joy. She refers to the notes and quotes in the collage as “codes”.
There is a screenshot of the overall collage, to give an overview of the complete shape. The collage is then provided in an embedded format, as a so-called MIRO board. You can navigate around the board by zooming in and out, moving left and right, and up and down, within the embedded surface.
As the collage is very visual, Marlene has also provided a detailed audio description of its content. You can download and listen to the audio description by Marlene Krubner at the bottom of this page, and you can also download a complete transcript.
The notes on the collage are organised around ten topics, or what Marlene calls “categories”:
Community care
Access intimacy
Resistance
Beautiful chaos instead of perfection
Support on equal terms
Communities question normality
Having a community
Moving in and coping with an ableist world
Using the world on your own terms
Accessible activities
Marlene explains the differently coloured notes in the collage as follows:
The light pink ones are concepts.
The green ones are notes that I created myself.
The dark pink ones are quotes that I thought are very important.
The yellow ones are quotes.
If you encounter any access issue, please reach out the project lead.
Embedded collage / MIRO board
You can navigate around the board by zooming in and out, moving left and right, and up and down, within the embedded surface.