Artwork by Cori Anderson

“Embodied Knowledge,” the art exhibit showing in the First Floor Gallery at the Health Sciences Library, features a consortium of VCU student artists who self-identify as disabled, neurodivergent, chronically ill or managing a chronic condition. The exhibit of 19 works that connects art with perceptions of health, fitness and ability is presented by the Health Sciences Library and student government’s Disability Advocacy and Accessibility Caucus. 

The exhibition will be on view through February 12, 2027.

According to organizers, “Embodied Knowledge” recognizes disability as a source of expertise, centering the perspectives of disabled artists and creating space for forms of knowledge often overlooked within traditional medical and academic settings. Bringing together artists whose work reflects experiences of illness, disability, healthcare and survival, the exhibition invites viewers to consider how lived experience expands our understanding of medicine. Through a range of artistic practices and lived experiences, these works demonstrate that knowledge is not found only in textbooks or laboratories, but is also carried within bodies, relationships and everyday acts of care. Embodied Knowledge asks us to reconsider whose knowledge is valued, how knowledge is produced, and what our bodies can teach us.  

Embodied Knowledge primarily features wall-hanging works, including paintings, prints, photographs, drawings and other paper-based works. 

Xavier McDaniel, a senior in VCUarts’ Painting and Printmaking department and Arts and Social Programming Director for the Disability Advocacy and Accessibility Caucus, conceived the exhibit and managed the jury process. 

“I wanted Embodied Knowledge to recognize that disabled people are not only patients or subjects within conversations about healthcare,” he said. “We carry knowledge about our own bodies, care, survival and the systems we move through every day. Bringing that perspective into the Health Sciences Library felt especially important because it asks people studying and working within medicine to consider lived experience as a form of expertise.”

In an effort to make participation as accessible as possible, a variety of support options helped artists prepare and install their work, including:

• Framing assistance and framing options
• Large-scale printing assistance
• Installation preparation assistance
• Artwork pickup and drop-off appointments

Artists indicated forms of assistance they needed as part of the submission process. These options are intended to reduce barriers to participation and ensure that artists could contribute their work without incurring unnecessary financial or logistical burdens.

Artists selected for the exhibition will also have the opportunity to win prizes provided by community organizations and creative spaces. Prizes were donated by The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Gallery 5 and SCRAP RVA Creative Reuse.