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ABLE Voices Ep 74: Briana Raucci
23 Plays9 months ago
We are inviting disabled artists and arts educators to be guests and guest hosts on ABLE Voices. Today's guest and our next guest host is Briana Raucci.
Briana is a Connecticut-based artist, writer, and photographer with multiple disabilities, including cerebral palsy, epilepsy. endometriosis, ADHD, and more. Over the years, Briana has self-described as a photographer, photojournalist, writer, graphic designer, UX & product designer, social media manager, artist, etc., but feels none of those titles alone fully embody the creativity she is constantly trying to express in new ways. After in-depth creative exploration, doing both full-time and freelance work for over 13 years, Briana is now freelancing full-time, utilizing all her creative abilities. Being a multi-passionate individual, this has allowed her to balance all of her creative endeavors and add a few more! Since this interview, she has begun fundraising to support her disability advocacy work.
Find Briana online at: https://www.brianaraucci.com/
Read Briana's Disability & Art Blog: https://www.brianaraucci.com/blog
Follow Briana on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianaraucci/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrianaRaucciPhotography
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianaraucci/
The ABLE Voices podcast is produced and edited by BIAAE Operations Coordinator, Daniel Martinez del Campo. The introduction music was written by Kai Levin and the ending song was written by Sebastian Batista. Kai and Sebastian are students in the Arts Education Programs at the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education.
For more information about our programs visit us at https://college.berklee.edu/BIAAE
Follow us for more weekly updates at:
Instagram: @BIAAE
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BIAAE
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Transcript
Introduction to Able Voices Podcast
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Able Voices podcast.
00:00:17
Speaker
I'm Dr. Rhoda Bernard, founding managing director of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education and the assistant chair of the music education department at Berklee College of Music.
00:00:27
Speaker
and I am proud to present this podcast featuring disabled artists and arts educators.
Meet Brianna Rauchy
00:00:33
Speaker
We are inviting artists with disabilities to be guest hosts for the Able Voices podcast.
00:00:38
Speaker
Today's guest host is Brianna Rauchy.
00:00:42
Speaker
Brianna is a Connecticut based artist specializing in film and digital photography, writing and design.
00:00:49
Speaker
Brianna also happens to have multiple disabilities.
00:00:53
Speaker
Over the years, Brianna has self-described as a photographer,
00:00:56
Speaker
photojournalist, writer, graphic designer, UX and product designer, social media manager, artist, et cetera, but feels none of these titles fully embodies the creativity she is constantly trying to express in new ways.
00:01:15
Speaker
After in-depth creative exploration, doing both full-time and freelance work for over 13 years, Brianna is now freelancing full-time, utilizing all of her creative abilities.
00:01:27
Speaker
Being a multi-passionate individual, this has allowed her to balance all of her creative endeavors and to add a few more.
00:01:34
Speaker
Welcome, Brianna.
00:01:35
Speaker
We are delighted to have you as our next guest host of the Able Voices podcast.
00:01:40
Speaker
It's a pleasure to be here.
00:01:42
Speaker
Thank you for having me.
00:01:43
Speaker
So delighted.
00:01:45
Speaker
I would like to start off by asking you to tell us your story as an
Brianna's Artistic Journey
00:01:49
Speaker
artist.
00:01:49
Speaker
How did you start as an artist and how did you get to where you are today?
00:01:53
Speaker
Great question.
00:01:55
Speaker
So my journey as an artist is a beautifully intricate web of designed by my need to incessantly create
00:02:05
Speaker
and express myself in different ways.
00:02:07
Speaker
So ever since I was a little kid, I was always interested in art.
00:02:11
Speaker
Even in elementary school, art was my favorite class.
00:02:15
Speaker
I remember any time we had to write what we wanted to be when we grow up, it was always an artist.
00:02:21
Speaker
And then as I got older and went to high school, I fell in love with photography.
00:02:26
Speaker
I didn't have a musical bone in my body, but I was obsessed with music.
00:02:30
Speaker
So I would take my camera and go to concerts and listen to my friends
00:02:33
Speaker
and take pictures and I really fell in love with that.
00:02:36
Speaker
And so I was like, great, I'm gonna be a photographer.
00:02:38
Speaker
I'm gonna go to school for photography.
00:02:40
Speaker
I went to school for photojournalism.
00:02:43
Speaker
And then after I graduated from there, I explored being a full-time photographer.
00:02:50
Speaker
Then I realized I needed to learn more because I always have this insatiable desire to learn.
00:02:56
Speaker
And I ended up getting my master's at Quinnipiac University in interactive media and communications with a concentration in user experience design.
00:03:06
Speaker
So I started to take on new skills like graphic design, user experience design,
00:03:11
Speaker
all sorts of different creative aspects, marketing, all of that.
00:03:15
Speaker
And then through different jobs, I also picked up other creative skills, which kind of led me to where I am
Creativity and Disability
00:03:21
Speaker
today.
00:03:21
Speaker
I've taken all these creative skills that I've learned over the years and put them into one bundle.
00:03:28
Speaker
And yeah, that's where I'm at today.
00:03:31
Speaker
So it's been quite an adventure.
00:03:34
Speaker
It sounds like it.
00:03:35
Speaker
I mean, what I hear is that your identity is you are a creative person and you're going to learn and discover and explore and find whatever ways it is for you to express your creativity.
00:03:47
Speaker
And so putting a box around it or a specific name on it
00:03:53
Speaker
doesn't really do it justice.
00:03:55
Speaker
Yeah, it really doesn't.
00:03:57
Speaker
I tried to fit myself into certain boxes.
00:03:59
Speaker
I was always told to niche down and focus on one area.
00:04:03
Speaker
And I genuinely tried.
00:04:05
Speaker
But my interests, like I said, are just constantly evolving.
00:04:09
Speaker
And I just want to figure out the best way to create.
00:04:12
Speaker
I think as a disabled person, I think a strong suit that most disabled people have, whether they realize it or not, is their creativity.
00:04:20
Speaker
Because you have to be
00:04:21
Speaker
inherently creative to overcome the obstacles of living in a able-bodied world.
00:04:28
Speaker
So you have to be creative.
00:04:30
Speaker
And yeah, I've definitely, definitely taken that to the fullest extent with my artistry.
00:04:35
Speaker
Fantastic.
Freelancing and Disability Challenges
00:04:36
Speaker
You gave us the segue to my next question, which is for you to talk about your experiences as a disabled person.
00:04:43
Speaker
Yeah, so being a disabled person is the hardest thing I've experienced, but it's also the only thing I've experienced.
00:04:50
Speaker
So, you know, my experience has been challenging in ways, but I think even the hardest of challenges have forced me to grow and become who I was meant to be.
00:05:02
Speaker
So a lot of the reason that I am now freelancing on my own is actually because of my disability.
00:05:08
Speaker
So I
00:05:09
Speaker
I worked tons of nine to five jobs.
00:05:12
Speaker
But a lot of times, unfortunately, when I needed an accommodation, I was met with issues like, you know, you don't look like you have disabilities, even though I would present, yeah, documentation, like from my doctors, it was, it was always something.
00:05:28
Speaker
And to me, this was discouraging, because I knew I had all the creative skills, I knew I was up to par with everyone else.
00:05:36
Speaker
But
00:05:37
Speaker
It just seemed like whenever I needed an accommodation, it caused conflict.
00:05:41
Speaker
So I was like, let me take full creative, creative, what's the word I'm looking for?
00:05:46
Speaker
Control maybe?
00:05:47
Speaker
Yes.
00:05:48
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:48
Speaker
Creative control and also learn how to work around my disability.
00:05:52
Speaker
So I think when I was working a nine to five, a lot of the times, you know, I have tons of appointments that I go to on a weekly basis.
00:05:59
Speaker
I go to physical therapy, occupational therapy, hospitalization.
00:06:02
Speaker
aqua therapy.
00:06:03
Speaker
I do all sorts of things to keep my body out of pain and healthy and, you know, as mobile as possible.
00:06:09
Speaker
And these things kind of get in the way of a nine to five.
00:06:12
Speaker
So by creating my own schedule, it's allowed me to fully embrace my creativity, do the work I love doing, embrace different skills, and then thrive as a person with disabilities and as an artist.
00:06:27
Speaker
And you're able to set the agenda
00:06:30
Speaker
figure out the deadlines, determine the timing, negotiate what you need because you control the whole environment.
00:06:37
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:06:38
Speaker
I mean, I work for myself at home and then, you know, I also do photo shoots where I go out and stuff, but I plan around my schedule and around my health.
00:06:46
Speaker
And what makes me feel really comfortable is,
00:06:50
Speaker
is learning to work with my body, like I said.
00:06:52
Speaker
So, you know, when you're doing a normal nine to five, you know, you have certain times for everything.
00:06:57
Speaker
And sometimes I'll work in the middle of the night, you know, because I can, I don't have to be on the clock at a certain time.
00:07:05
Speaker
And I can, if I'm tired, I rest.
00:07:07
Speaker
And if I have all the energy, I do all the things.
00:07:10
Speaker
So it's nice to work with my disabilities and incorporate that into the art.
00:07:15
Speaker
I just have to go back to something you said, because it was so frustrating to hear.
00:07:20
Speaker
What I'm hearing you say is that when you would request accommodations, it was as though you were greeted with the attitude of they were looking for some reason not to do it.
00:07:34
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:07:35
Speaker
It was always...
00:07:37
Speaker
You know, there were so many circumstances that happened.
00:07:41
Speaker
I might need you to go back on this one.
00:07:43
Speaker
I have to think about how I even want to say this.
00:07:46
Speaker
But yeah, it was just always a challenge, even if despite the most simple accommodations of
00:07:53
Speaker
wanting to park closer, for example, in the parking lot so that when it's icy out, because palsy on ice isn't very good.
00:08:01
Speaker
It's a little, it's a slippery mess.
00:08:02
Speaker
It's not good.
00:08:03
Speaker
And they would just be like, you don't, you don't look like you have disabilities.
00:08:06
Speaker
And I would present them with the documentation.
00:08:08
Speaker
And regardless, it just seemed like they would ignore the fact that I was like, for me, I didn't,
00:08:15
Speaker
always had a hard time asking people for help.
00:08:17
Speaker
So when I finally got to the point where I was asking someone for assistance, and then they were shutting me down, there was nothing more discouraging than that, because it took me so much to get the gumption to be like, hey, I actually do need help with this, because I skate this fine line, which is a double edged sword of
00:08:35
Speaker
passing as able-bodied as a disabled woman.
00:08:38
Speaker
So a lot of times you're misjudged that like, why would you need an accommodation?
00:08:43
Speaker
You look perfectly fine.
00:08:45
Speaker
And, you know, I can see that from an outsider standpoint, but when you're presented with medical information, then you should take that and implement that for the person so they could be successful.
00:08:56
Speaker
And just the ableist ignorant statement there, you don't look like
00:09:02
Speaker
Yeah.
00:09:02
Speaker
It's just, we could have hours about all the many things that are wrong with that.
00:09:06
Speaker
Yeah.
00:09:07
Speaker
I just wanted to take a moment to pause on that because I think it is important to underscore it.
00:09:12
Speaker
And it is extremely frustrating that in today's day and age, this is happening.
00:09:17
Speaker
So thank you.
00:09:19
Speaker
You referred some to your college education, but can you talk a little bit more about the arts education that you received, how you learned how to do all these things and you're still
Supportive Teachers' Impact
00:09:30
Speaker
learning.
00:09:30
Speaker
how to do all these things that you do.
00:09:33
Speaker
Yeah.
00:09:33
Speaker
So even further back, I'll go before college, there's certain teachers, I think, in my life and professors who've always made such a big impact on me as an artist, but also as a person with disabilities.
00:09:45
Speaker
All the way back to elementary school, my first art teacher really just saw, I think when I was, first of all, when I was younger, it was a little bit more obvious that I was disabled.
00:09:54
Speaker
I had
00:09:55
Speaker
braces on both of my legs.
00:09:57
Speaker
So I was kind of the kid that was made fun of and everything.
00:10:00
Speaker
And my teachers really saw me for who I was, and they saw the creativity in me and really tried to pull it out.
00:10:06
Speaker
So my art teacher in elementary school, Mr. Bernier, he really always recognized my art and was like, you should do more of this, challenged me to join little art competitions.
00:10:18
Speaker
And then I had a second grade teacher, Mrs. Diedrickson, and she
00:10:23
Speaker
I was the first kid in our class to get glasses and she had everyone make fake glasses and parade around the school.
00:10:29
Speaker
So I felt more confident.
00:10:31
Speaker
Oh, I love that.
00:10:33
Speaker
Yes.
00:10:33
Speaker
It was the best.
00:10:34
Speaker
There was always a few teachers who really saw me and saw how uncomfortable I was, but saw the potential in me and tried to bring my true self out because I think I hid it for so long.
00:10:47
Speaker
So yeah.
00:10:48
Speaker
As I got older, my photography teacher in high school, he was also super influential.
00:10:55
Speaker
I think all of my teachers and professors kind of saw who I am now in me, but I wasn't fully expressing that then because, you know, social situations growing up and everything, you kind of put yourself into the shell and kind of hide a little bit of who you are.
00:11:12
Speaker
But then when I went to college and I had a photography of
00:11:16
Speaker
Professor Steven Jacobs, he made such a profound impact on me too, because he would just really challenge me to embrace the weird things that I would think about that usually came from disabilities, whether I realized it or not.
00:11:32
Speaker
He would really challenge me to think about what I was creating rather than just creating for the sake of creating.
00:11:38
Speaker
And I think that helped me a lot.
00:11:40
Speaker
And then...
00:11:41
Speaker
Yeah, in my master's degree, same thing.
00:11:44
Speaker
People were just the best art educators, I would say, are the ones that noticed who I really was.
00:11:54
Speaker
I'm trying to think of a better way to explain that, but they really saw me for who I was and saw my potential and really helped grab that out of me and try to extrapolate that and help me emphasize that on my own.
00:12:09
Speaker
I think that's the most powerful thing a teacher can do is to really see someone and really understand their potential and then help them to see it.
00:12:20
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:12:22
Speaker
I'm thinking about your teacher with everybody wearing glasses, like let's normalize wearing glasses.
00:12:31
Speaker
Beautiful, beautiful thing.
00:12:33
Speaker
And then for people to see your incredible creativity and your talent,
00:12:38
Speaker
and to see big things for you that you weren't even ready to see for yourself.
00:12:42
Speaker
I think there's something very powerful in that.
00:12:44
Speaker
That's pretty cool.
00:12:45
Speaker
So I'm curious what advice you would give to a disabled artist.
Advice for Disabled Artists
00:12:51
Speaker
That's a great question.
00:12:52
Speaker
I would say embrace your creativity.
00:12:55
Speaker
It's going to be the most cathartic outlet you'll ever have.
00:12:59
Speaker
And it also is the thing that you're probably strongest in, like I said, without even realizing it, because you're forced to be creative because you're forced to be a problem solver when you have disabilities.
00:13:09
Speaker
So follow that creative nature, even if you don't think you're an artist.
00:13:14
Speaker
you know, and you just have disabilities, create art.
00:13:18
Speaker
Just, you don't have to be good at it.
00:13:20
Speaker
Just pick up a pen and paper and scribble, whatever it is.
00:13:23
Speaker
It's a great outlet.
00:13:24
Speaker
And I really do think it helps heal.
00:13:28
Speaker
I think it helps heal, to be honest.
00:13:30
Speaker
And I would just say, keep creating and really stay true to yourself.
00:13:35
Speaker
Because I think a lot of times, especially these days, like people want you to fit into some box or, you
00:13:42
Speaker
Be someone you're not.
00:13:43
Speaker
And I think it's really, really the most important thing as an artist is to truly be yourself and find what makes you unique and emphasize it.
00:13:51
Speaker
And some people will like it and some people won't, but you know, your art isn't going to be for everyone and you just have to make it for yourself and keep going.
00:14:03
Speaker
That sense of integrity and authenticity that you're describing is super important.
00:14:09
Speaker
It's a huge lesson for everyone, right?
00:14:13
Speaker
you need to be true to yourself and who you are and believe in that person.
00:14:17
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:14:18
Speaker
That's a beautiful message.
00:14:20
Speaker
So I know that our listeners would be very interested to know what you're working on today.
Current Work and Advocacy
00:14:25
Speaker
What are some of your current projects?
00:14:28
Speaker
So I kind of work because I have so many skill sets that I've gathered over the years.
00:14:32
Speaker
It's for a while, it was hard to market myself because everyone was like, well, you do everything.
00:14:37
Speaker
What do you actually do?
00:14:38
Speaker
So I've kind of created three different silos.
00:14:41
Speaker
One of them is a creative services team.
00:14:44
Speaker
So instead of like hiring, if you're, you're a brand or,
00:14:47
Speaker
like a small company or an individual looking to brand something.
00:14:50
Speaker
I could be like your creative team of one.
00:14:52
Speaker
I could do the research for your audiences, figure out how to best brand your products, do the web design for you, help you build a website, do the copywriting, SEO, marketing, social media, photography, the whole works, like a little creative agency, essentially.
00:15:08
Speaker
That's one silo.
00:15:10
Speaker
The second silo is I personally, I have something called the visual snow syndrome, which is basically like old static on a television.
00:15:20
Speaker
That's how I see.
00:15:21
Speaker
I didn't even realize I had this till I was 30 years old.
00:15:24
Speaker
I thought it was normal that everyone kind of saw with grain.
00:15:27
Speaker
But as a photographer, I was always interested in film photography and I described film as
00:15:34
Speaker
a memory, whereas digital photography to me looked like an impression of reality.
00:15:39
Speaker
It didn't look real.
00:15:41
Speaker
So come to find out film grain looks more real to me because that's how I see.
00:15:45
Speaker
So I love film photography and I focus on small weddings and elopements for that silo.
00:15:52
Speaker
And then the last one, which is my favorite, is the disability advocacy and creating art to create
00:16:00
Speaker
create awareness around disability.
00:16:02
Speaker
So I have an art blog where lately, you know, I've been focusing on writing some of the implications of this administration's
00:16:14
Speaker
views on disabilities and how that affects people.
00:16:17
Speaker
I try to educate people so that they can feel like they're not alone and they have some hope of what to do.
00:16:26
Speaker
And I just want people to feel empowered to be themselves in a time where it might feel hard to do that.
00:16:32
Speaker
So, yeah.
00:16:34
Speaker
Wow.
00:16:34
Speaker
Thank you, Brianna.
00:16:35
Speaker
All really interesting.
00:16:38
Speaker
Please check out all of Brianna's work online.
00:16:41
Speaker
What is the URL for your website?
00:16:43
Speaker
It's briannaracci.com.
00:16:45
Speaker
So B-R-I-A-N-A-R-A-U-C-C-I.com.
00:16:51
Speaker
Awesome.
00:16:52
Speaker
And I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.
00:16:56
Speaker
We are really looking forward to the upcoming episodes where you will be our host.
00:17:00
Speaker
Thanks
Episode Conclusion
00:17:01
Speaker
so much.
00:17:01
Speaker
Thank you.
00:17:10
Speaker
Able Voices is a production of the Berkeley Institute for Accessible Arts Education, led by me, Dr. Rhoda Bernard, the founding managing director.
00:17:19
Speaker
It is produced by Daniel Martinez del Campo.
00:17:22
Speaker
The intro music is by Kai Levin, and our closing song is by Sebastian Batista.
00:17:28
Speaker
Kai and Sebastian are students in the arts education programs at the Berkeley Institute for Accessible Arts Education.
00:17:35
Speaker
If you would like to learn more about our work, find us online at berkeley.edu slash B-I-A-A-E or email us at B-I-A-A-E at berkeley, that's L-E-E dot E-D-U.