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CORVALLIS, Ore. – “Brilliant and Resilient: Celebrating the Power of Disabled Women Activists,” an exhibit of photographs celebrating women with disabilities around the world, will be on display in Oregon State University’s Little Gallery Nov. 12 through Dec. 8.

A reception to celebrate the exhibit’s opening will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 16 at the gallery in 210 Kidder Hall, 2000 S.W. Campus Way, Corvallis. Susan Sygall, co-founder and CEO of Mobility International USA (MIUSA), and Susan Dunn, program manager for the Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD), will speak at the event. 

The public is welcome at the reception. ASL interpretation will be available. The gallery is wheelchair accessible, exhibit text will be available in English and Spanish and an audio format of the exhibit will be available.

“Brilliant and Resilient” features professional images and personal stories of 30 women representing a variety of cultures, countries and disabilities. All of the women are alumni of WILD, a program of MIUSA that brings grassroots women leaders with disabilities together to build skills, exchange experiences and strategies, strengthen international networks of support and more. 

The exhibit celebrates women with disabilities around the world who are making an impact in the fields of education, employment, policy and legislation, reproductive health, emergency response, HIV/AIDS and violence prevention.

The project honors the 1995 United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing, which ignited an international disabled women’s rights movement. The exhibit also highlights the role of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in advancing the status of women with disabilities. 

Photos displayed in the exhibit were taken by Brian Lanker, a Pulitzer Prize-winner whose work was featured in LIFE Magazine, Sports Illustrated and elsewhere; Darcy Keifel, a photojournalist whose work has been featured in USA Today and Sports Illustrated; and Paola Gianturco, a photojournalist who has documented women’s lives in 55 countries and whose work has been exhibited by the United Nations in New York, UNESCO-Paris and elsewhere. 

The exhibit’s appearance at OSU is supported by a grant from the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. 

The Little Gallery is open 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The exhibit is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the School of Language, Culture and Society’s World Languages and Cultures department within the College of Liberal Arts.