We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kennedy Healy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kennedy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Before the pandemic I was strictly an accessibility consultant. I worked mainly in medical, university, and corporate settings. I would give 101 workshops to 10-100 people and rarely saw the long term outcomes of those conversations. When COVID hit, I got tiered of seeing people talk about protecting disabled people without actually doing so and rarely talking to us. To cope with the stress of the times, I started making media about care and disability and doing a lot more creative work. I wanted to do something new that would reach larger audiences. I knew I wanted to be a TV writer, but the industry is wildly inaccessible and incredibly difficult to break into. I decided to start my own production company, Crip Crap, in May of 2021. We launched that December with a podcast, blog, and consulting services for making disability-friendly media. Up until then, I didn’t feel like creative work was something I was allowed to do or was a responsible life choice. But if you keep ignoring the thing you’re most interested in, the universe will keep pushing you in that direction. I now understand media as the medium through which I can most effectively create change.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a queer, fat, disabled person. I use she and they pronouns. I founded Crip Crap, a company that makes media about disability, by and for disabled people. I think media catered to disabled people is something disabled people deserve to have. And I find that it is more educational to non-disabled people to allow them to witness disability culture than making more media that assumes they are at the center. We launched with 3 branches. These include (1) a podcast about disability issues titled Crip Crap: The Podcast (2) a blog about media representation of disability titled Spoiler Alert! and (3) consulting services on making disability friendly media. Our consulting services consider accessibility in workplaces so that disabled creatives can be involved in the process of making media, representation and authentic/anti-ableist storytelling, and access for disabled folks in the audience. I am excited to grow Crip Crap into a video, TV, and film production company. I am also a writer and artist and am working on multiple projects like a photo series, musical, TV script, children’s books, children’s animated film script, and “stand up” material that I hope Crip Crap can be involved with.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of making media for me is other people’s reactions to it. When disabled people feel seen by my work is when I feel I’ve accomplished my goal. It is great to educate others as well. But the more we can encourage marginalized people to take up space and that they are worthy the more it will benefit everyone in society. As more leaders with everyone’s interests in mind get more power, things will shift for the better for all.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Under capitalism, what artists and creatives need most is money to survive so they can make their work. Training and mentorship is also great, but not that helpful if all your time and energy is just spent surviving. There are so many barriers to getting into creative industries. And only the people already making work get funding to make more. It doesn’t have to be this way. Societal shifts towards healthcare, universal basic income, and other basic resources will also allow people to be more fully creative without worrying if the work is profitable. Programs and funding for beginner creatives are so important. And it doesn’t have to be “I struggled so now you must, too.” I hope to open lots of doors and fund lots of other disabled artists work when I get to a stable point myself. I see it as a responsibility for generations who’ve struggled to make it easier for future generations as those who have come before me have done for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cripcrapmedia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crip.crap.media/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CripCrapMedia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/80895993/admin/