Today we’d like to introduce you to A. Laura Brody
Hi A. Laura, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m A. Laura Brody, a Monrovia-based artist, curator, and founder of Opulent Mobility. My vision for Opulent Mobility is a world where disability is celebrated instead of denied, ignored, and feared. This idea began after a former partner had a stroke at the age of 37. While bringing him to rehabilitation therapy, I met an 85 year old man and a 4 year old girl doing the same treatment for the same reason. It made it crystal clear that disability could happen at any time to anyone at any age. I was fascinated by the devices that helped them get around, but was shocked at their impersonal ugliness. With the help of a wheelchair-using friend, I turned an old Nutron R51 chair into an Edwardian throne (Driven) and Opulent Mobility was born.
After making my next piece (Le Flaneur) I struggled to find places to show my work. Many galleries are not wheelchair accessible or access friendly. After discovering how hard it was to make my sculptures safe and functional, I researched wheelchair and walker designs. There are quite a few patents online for imaginative and innovative assistive technology devices— and almost none of those designs are available for sale on the market. This has changed a little since I began the project, but not by much.
It was clear that this problem was larger than I thought. I decided to curate group exhibits dealing with the subject. Maybe I could find kindred spirits, fellow artists and people who could help me maneuver the tricky paths of medical licensing and make these fabulous devices a reality. At the very least it would get people talking about the subject. Along the way, I am coming to grips with my own chronic illness and chemical sensitivities.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Every year that I put up a new exhibit there is a brand new set of challenges. Paraphrasing John Varley from the Golden Globe, there are the problems that were probably foreseeable and then the ones that come from out of nowhere to smack me in the face.
The most common issues are finding accessible, affordable venues and getting help with access needs. This means not only wheelchair access at the door, but in the bathrooms and throughout the space. It means offering art descriptions, QR codes, and Braille labels for Blind and low vision folks and ASL at events and talks for Deaf and hard of hearing attendees. Live captioning is better than automatic captions, but they still need correcting before putting recorded talks and events up online. These are important for making the shows available to a wider range of audiences, but few people even think to offer these options. Also common but harder to deal with are the biases about disability and access that make it more of a challenge to work in this realm.
Of course, funding is always an issue. I am really not sure how that will go now, especially with the latest attacks on DEIA and accessibility across the country. This is maddening on so many levels and will harm so many people— we need to fight against it each and every time. Then there are the bizarre obstacles, like having artwork mistakenly delivered to the wrong address 75 miles away and having a venue shut down due to embezzlement. Thankfully there is usually a solution!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am probably best known for the Opulent Mobility exhibits that I founded and co-curate along with disability photographer, archivist, and activist Anthony Tusler. These exhibits ask artists to re-imagine disability as opulent and powerful, two terms that aren’t usually used to describe disability. I started these exhibits using my own artworks since the theme was so uncommon, and the Edwardian throne wheelchair and Victorian inspired walker became the face of the project. Since the first major exhibit back in 2015, however, so many artists have joined the exhibit and shared artworks that celebrate disability of all kinds, not only ones that require mobility devices. It is a delight to build and grow with this community of artists.
Over the years I’ve expanded the curation to cover themes that are dear to my heart: celebrating the Goddess in all her forms, an online commentary on the Plague, and co-curating the Art of Costume Couture with Lisa Tomczeszyn. My own artworks have also changed. When I first started creating the wheelchairs and walkers, it was much like developing samples. Because of my costume making and design background, they were more like costumes for the devices. Over time, though, they became less theoretical and much more personal. The last three large sculptures —the Kali Walker, Medusa, and the Fairy Melusine— are based on myth and legend and are deeply personal, and I am engrossed in the next piece based on the goddess Inanna. Strangely enough, the more personal my works become, the more they speak to others. I’ve also been exploring fabric portraits, embroidery, and rag rug making in recent years, mostly on the themes of social justice and sustainability.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I love a good collaboration! The next opportunities coming up are:
Share your art that re-imagines disability as opulent and powerful! The Opulent Mobility call for art will go up at the beginning of April and the show will be December 2025 at the Los Angeles Makery, 260 S. Los Angeles St, LA, CA 90012.
Join us at Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale for a retrospective of California based Opulent Mobility artists opening April 26 and running through June 21st, 2025.
To learn visible mending, embroidery, and other fiber arts get in touch; there are workshops coming up at Underdog Bookstore in Monrovia, CA and at the Los Angeles Makery. I also welcome custom and collaborative projects.
Speaking of the Makery, my studio mates and I are taking donations of art supplies for artists affected by the LA wildfires. If you are an artist who lost your home and/or studio, please check out the Makery and pick up the items you need. If you have art supplies to donate, set up a time to drop them off or deliver them. I lived in Altadena for many years and am heartbroken at the devastation; we are all glad to help the artists any way we can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dreamsbymachine.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.laurabrody/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/a.laura.brody/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/a-laura-brody-5864478/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@opulentmobility
Image Credits
Personal photo by Lisa Tomczeszyn
Driven, Le Flaneur, the Kali Walker, Medusa, and the Fairy Melusine photos by Heidi Marie Photography
Pieces of Me and Ours Not Yours photos by A. Laura Brody
