Bio: Debra Keenahan is a writer, artist, psychologist, and disability advocate. She has 2 PhDs - the first in psychology on Dehumanization, the second in visual arts on Critical Disability Aesthetics. In her work Debra focusses upon personal and social impacts of disability. Having achondroplasia dwarfism, Debra brings lived experience to understanding the dynamics of interpersonal interactions that include/exclude the visibly different from social relations.
She is a multi-discipline artist and has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions, her sculpture work has been exhibited at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (2017), Western Sydney University (WSU) (2018), Gallery One88 (2019) and Casula Powerhouse (2022-23). Her VR work was exhibited at Art Gallery of NSW (2019), UNSW (2019) and Casula (2022-23). The video/film ‘Smashing’ was selected for the Cannes Short Film Festival 2022 and her one-woman theatre work ‘Othering’, featured in the Sydney Festival 2023.
Debra has sole- and co-authored a book, chapters, and articles, consulted on disability access for - National Gallery of Australia, NAVA and Force Majeur, and received grants from ArtScreen-Accessible Arts, Create NSW and Creative Australia. Debra is currently writing a book on Relational Disability Aesthetics and a play about disability and sexuality.
