Refocus began as a response to a problem that is still common in art and design: galleries often assume a visitor who is able-bodied, sighted, and comfortable navigating traditional forms of display. Many do not offer basics like screen-reader-friendly materials, sign language interpretation, or seating that supports visitors with mobility differences. Even fewer include disabled artists and storytellers in the work presented.

Refocus brings together portrait photography, personal narrative, and community collaboration to challenge these norms. Working closely with fourteen individuals with rare diseases, I co-created each portrait through interviews and shared direction, ensuring the images reflected the person’s own sense of identity rather than a predefined aesthetic. The resulting black-and-white portraits were installed as a contemplative sequence, illuminated gradually by natural light throughout the day.

Equally important was the design of the exhibition itself. Refocus incorporated speech readers, sign language interpretation, scent-free space planning, comfortable seating, and a gallery layout that prioritized movement, rest, and sensory accessibility. The work invited visitors to consider not only the narratives on the walls, but the structures that usually determine who can participate in the art world at all.

Refocus ultimately became a study in how accessibility functions as a form of care and a framework for creative decision-making. It affirmed that inclusion is not an add-on to a finished artwork but a way of shaping the work from the beginning. This project remains foundational in how I think about collaboration, representation, and the responsibility art spaces have to the communities they serve.