About the Cover, “Dare to Go”
I started creating and showing my collage pieces in 2019, inspired by the yearly exhibition called Opulent Mobility, that asks artists to reimagine disability as opulent and powerful. I sourced images from travel, fashion, and nature magazines combined with images from mobility device catalogs and art history books. I found text in magazines that resonated along with interesting images and built the piece from there. I wanted to create a fun and surreal collage that celebrates the disability community and its strength.
My works are a celebration of the disabled experience and the disabled body. I often use surrealism, bright colors, and humor in my work to challenge societal norms and stereotypes regarding disability. I believe bringing this perspective to the general public is important, and I use my experience as a disabled person and knowledge of disability studies to enhance and inform my work. I use a variety of materials, such as gel prints, mulberry paper, books, and magazine images, to create contrast while still uniting the work through color and layering. The process of using different mediums and putting separate parts together to create a new whole strengthens the messages of the work.
Emily Tironi
Emily Tironi is a mixed media collage artist with a disability based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her works are a celebration of the disabled experience and the disabled body. She has an AAS in Media Arts from SUNY Adirondack and a BA in Disability Studies from CUNY School of Professional Studies. In 2020, her work was included in the 31 Women Exhibit at the Sedona Arts Center and she had her first solo exhibition at Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester, VT. In July 2022, Emily was included in the publication, Inside Their Studio: Deaf & Disabled Artists Reshaping the Arts and participated in her first artist residency at Salem Art Works. In April 2025, Emily attended the ChaNorth Residency in Pine Plains, NY. From July 14 – August 11, 2025, Emily attended the Saltonstall Residency in Ithaca, NY.