{"id":968370,"date":"2026-11-12T21:50:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T21:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/968370\/"},"modified":"2026-11-12T21:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T21:50:13","slug":"finnegan-shannon-installs-conveyor-belt-for-displaying-art-accessibly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/968370\/","title":{"rendered":"Finnegan Shannon installs conveyor belt for displaying art accessibly\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City-based artist Finnegan Shannon has installed a conveyor belt to display art at cultural centre Pioneer Works in Brooklyn<\/a>, USA, as a commentary on accessibility<\/a> in art.<\/p>\n

According to Pioneer Works<\/a>, the There\u2019s No Me Without You installation fulfils Shannon\u2019s \u201clongtime fantasy of an exhibition space that would meet their access needs\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Chairs were placed around the closed-loop 12-foot-long mechanism, letting visitors sit when viewing and engaging with exhibited objects, archival materials and portable DVD players placed on a series of moving trays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was created from a restaurant-style system similar to those used in sushi restaurants where the food is delivered via a conveyor belt. The rest of the room on the upper floor of the arts centre was covered in rich fabrics and built-in benches along the perimeter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cMy conveyor belt, technically a retail and restaurant-style display system, is a tool for me to be in less pain when I\u2019m experiencing art,\u201d said Shannon<\/a>, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth. \u201cI notice I am a much more patient and curious visitor when I\u2019m sitting down.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The title of the installation reflects the artist\u2019s relationship to the concept of interdependence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf disabled people were in charge, we would have a bunch of varied and deluxe options for sitting and lying down in exhibition spaces,\u201d they said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Finnegan<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead we live in a world where this type of infrastructure is quite basic and sparse.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The installation is being used to present new commissions by artists with disabilities Joselia Rebekah Hughes, Ariana Martinez and Alex Dolores Salerno. For the three consecutive exhibitions, visitors are invited to interact with the work through touch, sight, and sound.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Air filters with bright colours were included in the middle of the conveyor belt to assist with air quality and masks were encouraged for visitors. <\/p>\n

Shannon emphasised the collaborative nature of artistic endeavour through the exhibition. <\/p>\n

\"FinneganThree different artists took part in the ongoing installation, including Ariana Martinez, whose work is pictured here<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that on some fundamental level, no solo exhibition is truly a solo endeavor,\u201d Shannon said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPutting together an exhibition takes immense collaboration and support \u2013 art handlers, facilities staff, curators, registrars, accountants, assistants \u2013 and that is all within the institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Font<\/p>\n

\n Read:\n <\/p>\n

Font adaptive cutlery collection combines aesthetics and accessibility<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can trace that entanglement further: I\u2019m dependent on workers, paid and unpaid care labor, and friendships, family, and more, both locally and across the globe.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI never want someone to come away from an exhibition with my work feeling like they\u2019ve experienced something that is mine,\u201d they said. \u201cInstead I hope they have threads to follow to learn more about the vast world of knowledge that is disability culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Finnegan<\/p>\n

Shannon\u2019s other projects have focused on access. Alt Text as Poetry, a collaboration with Bojana Coklyat exploring image description and Do You Want Us Here or Not is a series of museum benches and cushions designed to encourage rest.<\/p>\n

Other designs that prioritise accessibility were showcased at The Fashion Institute of Technology\u2019s Adapt\/Evolve exhibition in New York last year.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s No Me Without You is on show at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn from 12 September to 20 December. For more exhibitions, installations and talks worldwide, visit Dezeen Events Guide.<\/a><\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

\n Photography by Dan Bradica<\/a>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City-based artist Finnegan Shannon has installed a conveyor belt to display art at cultural centre Pioneer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":968371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[50833,9930,76,354,355,10427,49,48,356,75,35111,19078,167,183],"class_list":["post-968370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-accessible-design","tag-art","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-brooklyn","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-exhibitions","tag-installations","tag-new-york-city","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/968370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=968370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/968370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/968371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=968370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=968370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=968370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}