•This project aims to build awareness of the disabled community through a photographic investigation of adapted and customized objects used to assist its members in their daily lives.

Following on from the Adaptations photography project pilot exhibition in June 2022, the Innovations Photography project had an online presence at the Auckland Festival of Photography continuing with the same aim which is to build awareness of a largely unseen and unheard disabled community through a photographic investigation of adapted, fabricated, and customized objects used to assist its members in their daily lives. Photographer Nicola Simpkin-Hill’s forensic yet open-ended approach is grounded in her lived experience of disability as the mother of a 22-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy. Simpkin-Hill understands first-hand the challenges of the disability landscape and advocates for a deeper understanding of the lived experience of these communities and further inclusion of their perspectives and voices in wider society.

The aim of the Innovations photography project acts as a seed for the larger concept of a SEE ME social art collaborative, which will activate disability awareness and drive social change by providing a platform for social identity and growing disability culture through the arts in Aotearoa/ NZ.

What is in it for participants?
Participants will receive an invitation to the Innovations photography project exhibition. The date and time of the exhibition are yet to be decided, however, if your adaptive device is part of the final selection, you will receive an unframed print of it to keep. You will remain anonymous if you wish and all efforts to protect your privacy will be met for this process. A percentage of proceeds from photographic prints and photo books will go to the disability community.