In Feeling: Centering Disability and Access at The Fralin Museum of Art

Is it possible to fully understand someone’s point of view? In Feeling: Empathy and Tension Through Disability, an exhibition on view at the University of Virginia in Fall 2025, features works by nine contemporary disabled artists that reckon with how we empathize. Stemming from the Greek terms em -“in” and pathos -“feeling,” empathy implies the action of understanding or experiencing the feelings and thoughts of another. Yet the practice of empathizing can also engender tensions around stigmatization, idolization, fetishization, pity, and fear.

Exploring the relationship between empathy and tension through lived experiences of disability, In Feeling celebrates perspectives that challenge assumptions about ways of being and living. The works in the exhibition engage with themes surrounding communication, connection, and rest, challenging and expanding what art can be, who it is for, and why it matters.

This presentation focuses on exhibition planning and seeks to offer takeaways for museum professionals hoping to collaborate with disabled artists and to develop accessibility standards for exhibitions of all kinds. Through its conception and planning, In Feeling attempted to counter ableism and practices of exclusion in museums. Co-curators Molly Joyce and Kristen Nassif pursued an artist-led approach, driven by conversations with the artists to identify key works and embed accessibility from the start. The Fralin also partnered with user experts and an inclusive design firm to advise on exhibition layout and accessibility. Prioritizing empathy as both an institutional and curatorial value, In Feeling invites reflection on how museums can be more welcoming to all visitors.