FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2024 
Termeh Rassi, Press@leonardo.info

Leonardo CripTech Incubator receives Ford Foundation's Art Futures Grant for its groundbreaking access work in art and technology

Oakland, California - 15 October 2024 - The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (Leonardo/ISAST) is excited to announce that its CripTech Incubator is the recipient of the Ford Art Futures grant.   

"We are honored to receive the Ford Art Futures grant renewal as recognition of Leonardo’s ongoing commitment to champion equity throughout our organization and break down barriers across creative sectors. This generous support not only advances access as creative practice, it “crips” technology innovation led by disabled artists for the benefit of all." said Diana Ayton-Shenker, CEO, Leonardo/ISAST

Launched in 2021, Leonardo's CripTech Incubator promotes diversity across the arts and technology by providing an innovation platform for artists with disabilities to remake creative technologies through an accessibility lens. Leveraging labs, fellowships, residencies, workshops, and exhibitions, the CripTech Incubator reimagines how a body-mind can move, look, and communicate by employing a broad understanding of technologies, including prosthetic tools, neural networks, software, and the built environment.

“Understanding access as a collective, creative practice, CripTech Incubator centers the experience, expertise, and creativity of disabled artists. Taking non-compliant approaches to technology, these creators expand the field of possibilities in art, technology and community. We are eager to scaffold this critical work at a time of profound technological shift.”  says Leonardo Director of Programs, Vanessa Chang. 

With the renewal and support of the Ford Arts Future grant, CripTech Incubator will continue to foster disability innovation in emerging technologies, kicking off with the 2025 launch of the CripTech AI Lab. The Lab will engage a cohort of emerging disabled media artists to cultivate their practice using artificial intelligence as a creative tool. What new paradigms might emerge when disabled creatives contribute to the development and applications of machine learning? Disabled artists working with AI can help chart a path for algorithmic futures where disabled people’s ways of knowing and being are valued.   

“Leonardo’s CripTech Incubator is a powerful testament to the boundless possibilities of creative innovation when disability is centered. At the Ford Foundation, we are excited to renew our support for this groundbreaking work, which not only pushes the boundaries of technology and art but also amplifies the dynamic contributions of disabled artists. This partnership reflects our commitment to championing disability arts, rights, and justice, and we look forward to seeing how CripTech continues to transform the future of creative expression.” Lane Sugata, Senior Program Officer, Creativity and Free Expression, Ford Foundation. 

The CripTech AI Lab is the first in a series of planned projects funded through the Ford Arts Future grant, each investigating a different facet of art, technology, and disability. These incoming fellows will join the vibrant community of 16 disabled artists who have contributed to exploratory research and created under the auspices of CripTech Incubator. 

The CripTech AI Lab will run from June 2025 through November 2025, culminating in a virtual exhibition and showcase.

For more information about the CripTech Incubator and Leonardo’s access work, please visit leonardo.info/criptech or contact press@leonardo.info 

About Leonardo 

Fearlessly pioneering since 1968, Leonardo serves as THE community forging a transdisciplinary network to convene, research, collaborate, and disseminate best practices at the nexus of arts, science and technology worldwide. Leonardo serves a network of transdisciplinary scholars, artists, scientists, technologists and thinkers, who experiment with cutting-edge, new approaches, practices, systems and solutions to tackle the most complex challenges facing humanity today.

As a not-for-profit 501(c)3 enterprising think tank, Leonardo offers a global platform for creative exploration and collaboration reaching tens of thousands of people across 135 countries. Our flagship publication, Leonardo, the world’s leading scholarly journal on transdisciplinary art, anchors a robust publishing partnership with MIT Press; our partnership with ASU infuses educational innovation with digital art and media for lifelong learning; our creative programs span thought-provoking events, exhibits, residencies and fellowships, scholarship and social enterprise ventures.