Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
ABLE Voices Ep 88: Carly "Car" Riegger
10 Plays2 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 Carly Riegger.
Carly “Car” Riegger is a chronically ill and disabled artist, writer, curator, and advocate from Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. They utilize porcelain and installation artworks to express inner feelings and narratives of disability. Riegger has organized several important exhibitions for artists with disabilities through the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) including #CripClay in Cincinnati, OH in 2023, and Outpour in Detroit, MI in 2026. Riegger is also the recipient of the 2024 Midwest Artists with Disabilities Award. They hold an MA in Disability Studies from The City University of New York and are currently pursuing an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Both Riegger’s artwork and career goals involve disability inclusion and rights. They are working to expand how the arts communities work with artists with disabilities and how disability communities utilize art to express complex disabled ideas.
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/BIAAEWe are inviting disabled artists and arts educators to be guests and guest hosts on ABLE Voices.
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello
Introduction to Podcast and Host
00:00:14
Speaker
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.
00:00:28
Speaker
And I am proud to present this podcast featuring disabled artists and arts educators.
00:00:33
Speaker
We are inviting artists with disabilities to be guest hosts for the Able Voices Podcast.
00:00:38
Speaker
Today, you'll meet our next guest host, Carly Carr Rieger.
00:00:43
Speaker
Carr
Carly Carr Rieger's Artistic Journey
00:00:44
Speaker
Rieger is a chronically ill and disabled artist, writer, curator, and advocate from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
00:00:51
Speaker
They utilize porcelain and installation artworks to express inner feelings and narratives of disability.
00:00:58
Speaker
Rieger has organized several important exhibitions for artists with disabilities through the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, including Crip Clay in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2023,
00:01:11
Speaker
and Outpour in Detroit, Michigan in 2026.
00:01:14
Speaker
Rieger is also the recipient of the 2024 Midwest Artists with Disabilities Award.
00:01:21
Speaker
They hold an MA in Disability Studies from the City University of New York and are currently pursuing an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
00:01:32
Speaker
Both Rieger's artwork and career goals involve disability inclusion and rights.
Expanding Inclusion in Arts
00:01:38
Speaker
They are working to expand
00:01:40
Speaker
how the arts communities work with artists with disabilities, and how the disability communities utilize art to express complex disabled ideas.
00:01:50
Speaker
Welcome, Kar.
00:01:51
Speaker
We are delighted to have you as the next guest host of the Able Voices podcast.
00:01:57
Speaker
Thank you so much for having me.
00:01:58
Speaker
I'm so excited.
00:02:00
Speaker
Me too.
00:02:01
Speaker
So let's start off by hearing your story as an artist.
00:02:06
Speaker
How did you get your start as an artist and how did you get to where you are today?
00:02:11
Speaker
Yeah, so I always was kind of an artsy kid.
00:02:16
Speaker
And I happened to have like a really itty bitty ceramics class in my high school.
00:02:23
Speaker
And so suddenly I just like kind of tried that and I fell in love with clay and working with art and especially 3D art.
00:02:32
Speaker
Hmm.
00:02:33
Speaker
And at the same time, I was also going through diagnosis and trying to figure out what was wrong with my chronic pain and things like that.
00:02:40
Speaker
And so they kind of like merged together pretty naturally.
00:02:44
Speaker
So looking back, that was kind of cool.
00:02:45
Speaker
At the time it was stressful and lots of anxiety.
00:02:50
Speaker
Sure.
00:02:51
Speaker
That's like kind of my origin story.
00:02:53
Speaker
And since then I just have been seeking any and every opportunity to keep using clay.
00:03:00
Speaker
So two questions come to my mind.
00:03:02
Speaker
First of all, you were always an artsy kid.
00:03:05
Speaker
What is, what did that look like?
00:03:06
Speaker
That's a good question.
00:03:09
Speaker
I was always like either dancing or
00:03:13
Speaker
you know, participating in like extracurricular kind of things revolving around the arts.
00:03:19
Speaker
I did a little bit of choir and things like that, too.
00:03:23
Speaker
And I was like, kind of, I think, trying like all these different things, instruments and everything else to find like what felt right to me.
00:03:33
Speaker
And it didn't happen until I had found clay.
00:03:36
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:37
Speaker
And that leads to my next question.
00:03:39
Speaker
What
Connection with Clay and Teaching
00:03:39
Speaker
is it about clay that just was like, this is it?
00:03:45
Speaker
Yeah, I think part of it was like there, I had such a huge focus in visual arts.
00:03:51
Speaker
Once I got to the visual arts kind of classes, I was like, yeah, this feels right, but like not quite right.
00:03:57
Speaker
And it was just because there's such a focus on 2D art and painting that
00:04:02
Speaker
And I like painting, but I'm way, my brain makes sense of the world physically, especially as a disabled person.
00:04:11
Speaker
And so the three-dimensional part of it, 100% was like a huge thing.
00:04:17
Speaker
And then the other part is just how intuitive it is to work with clay and how similar I feel like
00:04:26
Speaker
I connect my body to clay in a way that other mediums just don't offer.
00:04:32
Speaker
Wow.
00:04:32
Speaker
I love that.
00:04:33
Speaker
That must've been the most amazing feeling when you discovered like, this is my home.
00:04:38
Speaker
It really, it really was.
00:04:40
Speaker
Yeah.
00:04:40
Speaker
And I had, thankfully I had like one of the most encouraging teachers who,
00:04:46
Speaker
And he really was like, and I made like a piece that was like taller than me, kind of a thing.
00:04:52
Speaker
And he like encouraged that and like was so excited for me.
00:04:56
Speaker
And so he also kind of inspired me then to become a teacher for ceramics.
00:05:02
Speaker
Wow.
00:05:02
Speaker
Okay.
00:05:03
Speaker
Because of that, and you segued me too easily, I'm going to skip a question and hit there first.
00:05:09
Speaker
Talk to us a little bit about your arts education.
00:05:12
Speaker
I mean, you're in the middle of it now and your work as a teacher as well.
00:05:16
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:19
Speaker
So I have basically sought out a lot of university and college, um,
00:05:24
Speaker
for ceramics because a lot of kilns and the things to really fully get into clay are really expensive.
00:05:32
Speaker
And so universities are the center of that.
00:05:35
Speaker
There are some community spaces, especially once I'm out of MFA that I'd like to explore, but I also really, again, like teaching.
00:05:44
Speaker
And so that kind of has made sense for me.
00:05:49
Speaker
So, yeah, so like huge kilns, there's different firing methods, like all of those are through the university.
00:05:57
Speaker
So I did a BFA first, I knew I wanted that.
00:06:01
Speaker
And then I took some time in between, and there's...
00:06:04
Speaker
A thing that I know some areas have, but ceramics is really big on postbacks.
00:06:11
Speaker
And so you go and do like one credit of ceramics just to get access to clay.
00:06:17
Speaker
And so I did that actually between and I was in Louisville, Kentucky for a while.
00:06:23
Speaker
So I was doing that for like three years.
00:06:25
Speaker
And then I built up my portfolio to do an MFA.
00:06:30
Speaker
And all through the all through that,
00:06:33
Speaker
There can be some things that are accommodating about universities and there can also be some struggles.
00:06:37
Speaker
And so while I was making my work, I was usually fighting with someone about parking or some other kind of thing.
00:06:44
Speaker
So kind of like doing my advocacy where I go.
00:06:50
Speaker
and
Advocacy and Accessibility Challenges
00:06:50
Speaker
it weaves together.
00:06:51
Speaker
And that you just gave me the segue to the next question, which is, as a person with a disability and an artist, can you talk about your experience from that perspective?
00:07:03
Speaker
Yeah.
00:07:04
Speaker
So the universities are, I kind of mentioned before, like both like more accommodating than the world around it, but then also like have lots of problems still.
00:07:16
Speaker
And so I have found those spaces,
00:07:20
Speaker
And especially as I go into teaching, like those spaces are more accessible to me, like especially chunking my day with classes and things like that instead of like a typical nine to five, even though I'd be teaching at a university still.
00:07:37
Speaker
So one of the bigger barriers has been parking, even though like I had to fight originally to get like a disabled parking placard.
00:07:46
Speaker
And then for some reason, it's still a huge problem.
00:07:50
Speaker
and they'll make you pay a lot on top of- But then it becomes a monetary barrier also.
00:07:57
Speaker
That's absurd.
00:07:58
Speaker
Yes.
00:07:58
Speaker
Monetary barrier has actually been one of the bigger issues.
00:08:01
Speaker
And it's not just like a few hundred dollars, it's like $900.
00:08:05
Speaker
So it's puzzling.
00:08:09
Speaker
And for some reason, accommodations sometimes like
00:08:13
Speaker
because the transportation department is separate, like they can't really do a whole lot.
00:08:18
Speaker
And so I'm like, yeah, I'm, a lot of it is trying to decide how much time and energy I want to waste on something like this versus like, also I, I was fighting for it for a while.
00:08:32
Speaker
And then I kind of fought for myself to get a parking pass and,
00:08:37
Speaker
But then after me, another student in the MFA program came in and has a disability also, and then was struggling to get a parking pass.
00:08:47
Speaker
And then I was kind of thinking to myself, oh, like, I didn't work hard enough because it only impacted me.
00:08:54
Speaker
It didn't, you know, impact the wider, like, community if there are more people coming in.
00:08:59
Speaker
So that's kind of also the struggle is, like, fighting for myself, but I also want it to be bigger than that.
00:09:06
Speaker
And is it, what kind of energy do you want to put to that fight?
00:09:09
Speaker
Do you want to put the energy into, you know, dealing with these offices and these policies that are
00:09:15
Speaker
absolutely awful and or you're making art, right?
00:09:21
Speaker
And you are advocating and bringing things together in your art in ways that help lots of other people understand things they wouldn't otherwise understand.
00:09:33
Speaker
And maybe on a certain level, how do you divide your energy between those two, right?
00:09:39
Speaker
Yeah.
00:09:39
Speaker
I'm kind of always and still asking myself that
00:09:44
Speaker
And yeah, because I feel a fire and a drive to kind of like put up with the people making these policies and sit down and like talk with them.
00:09:53
Speaker
But at the same time, yeah, it is it is already hard to be working in a physical media while having physical like chronic illness things.
00:10:04
Speaker
So yeah, lots going on there.
00:10:06
Speaker
I want to tack back to something you brought up earlier.
00:10:09
Speaker
So when you had that awesome high school teacher, and I just had this image of this huge clay structure piece, I just can't even imagine, and all that encouragement and you were sort of finding your artistic home beautifully, you said that was also at the same time that you were dealing with diagnosis.
00:10:33
Speaker
Yeah.
Balancing Diagnosis and Art
00:10:34
Speaker
So...
00:10:35
Speaker
Yes, a lot's happening.
00:10:37
Speaker
Can you take us inside what that was like for you dealing with both of those things at the same time?
00:10:42
Speaker
Yeah, it one thing that I look back on a lot is my mom joining and advocating during those appointments.
00:10:53
Speaker
And once I was, you know, I was kind of also like becoming an adult or like right before, like feeling like I was an adult.
00:11:01
Speaker
And so then I was like, Mom, I don't want you to join me.
00:11:05
Speaker
And it was kind of, it was good for me, but at the same time, I faced like a lot of scrutiny.
00:11:14
Speaker
And that my, how my mom just sat there and was like, no, you're going to listen.
00:11:19
Speaker
It's just so much easier for her to sit there and do that versus me going in and feeling intimidated.
00:11:25
Speaker
by a doctor.
00:11:26
Speaker
So really, I just, I feel like that was really important.
00:11:30
Speaker
And then a lot of the day to day was just kind of running around to different appointments, but then, you know, really loving that time that I got in the studio and trying to make the most of it.
00:11:43
Speaker
It was like the perfect antidote to all other stuff.
00:11:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:46
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:47
Speaker
It just, and it, my mind would, would be quiet.
00:11:51
Speaker
Like it just, it felt right in a lot of ways.
00:11:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:54
Speaker
Beautifully put.
00:11:55
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:56
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:57
Speaker
And that one piece that I built was like a really giant like spine and rope cage piece.
00:12:05
Speaker
And that's kind of how I started working with the body in clay with my body.
00:12:11
Speaker
Oh, man.
00:12:12
Speaker
Beautiful.
00:12:14
Speaker
Totally amazing.
00:12:15
Speaker
And the level of authenticity there, right?
00:12:18
Speaker
Huge.
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah.
00:12:20
Speaker
Only art, only art lets us do this.
00:12:23
Speaker
Right.
00:12:24
Speaker
And I wasn't really able to comprehend or talk about like the words weren't there for how that experience felt.
00:12:36
Speaker
And so I just put it like directly into art.
00:12:39
Speaker
Unbelievable.
00:12:41
Speaker
So what advice would you give to an artist who has a disability?
00:12:47
Speaker
Yeah,
Importance of Networking for Disabled Artists
00:12:47
Speaker
this, I think a lot about networking in that just social media is just such a benefit that I mostly use it to find other disabled artists because we're kind of scattered around, it feels like.
00:13:04
Speaker
And how I feel like I really found my community and people who felt like me and people with the same diagnosis was through those small online communities and
00:13:15
Speaker
And so I've actually, because I've just randomly been like, oh my gosh, hey, I love your art.
00:13:21
Speaker
Like, you're so cool.
00:13:22
Speaker
I've like created opportunities like through that in that like I've found people that I want to like curate shows with and we've like done that and connections that like actually last like really long.
00:13:35
Speaker
Like people are way more open, I feel like, than it might seem to just like chatting on social media, especially disabled artists, I feel like.
00:13:44
Speaker
We're always trying to find each other.
00:13:46
Speaker
And then, I mean, I think some people really benefit from the university setting and other people don't.
00:13:53
Speaker
So that kind of is finding your space that makes sense and also like whatever media like you're going into.
00:14:02
Speaker
So I recommend like
00:14:06
Speaker
pursuing like university things, but there's so many like community spaces that you can apply for residencies and other things that I think in some ways might feel more supportive because you're like literally a part of a community space instead of like paying to be at a university or something like that.
00:14:27
Speaker
So, yeah, I think the I think online community is really like fueled my love, like for the community and how I think about my work.
00:14:36
Speaker
Yeah, that's great advice.
00:14:39
Speaker
And so many people are on their own to have a real sense of community like that, I think is really important.
00:14:45
Speaker
So can you talk about your current projects?
Current Projects and Creative Exploration
00:14:48
Speaker
What are you working on today?
00:14:49
Speaker
Yeah, so I'm still very, very based in clay.
00:14:55
Speaker
And most recently, I feel like porcelain has made sense with how delicate and sensitive of a material it is.
00:15:04
Speaker
It feels really similar to my body, more than even other clays.
00:15:09
Speaker
So I'm working a lot with porcelain, but then I'm also kind of expanding the
00:15:14
Speaker
to some other things.
00:15:15
Speaker
I've been working with kind of experimental video and pillow foam, especially.
00:15:23
Speaker
I'm talking a lot.
00:15:24
Speaker
You understand what that is?
00:15:25
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:26
Speaker
So like, I'm, I'm talking a lot about my relationship as with my bed as a chronically ill person.
00:15:32
Speaker
And so foam is just such a like thing that like shapes your body.
00:15:37
Speaker
And so you can buy, like, it's kind of like resin.
00:15:41
Speaker
You get a two part thing and it foams up instead of,
00:15:44
Speaker
just setting.
00:15:45
Speaker
Got it.
00:15:46
Speaker
So I work a lot with molds anyway.
00:15:48
Speaker
And so I've been kind of using those in my molds.
00:15:54
Speaker
So yeah, I've been kind of like slowly theorizing like how I feel material and physical objects represent my body.
00:16:04
Speaker
And also like how we think about like ableism as well, and how we like look at the body.
00:16:11
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:16:11
Speaker
The different lenses that are used to look at the body.
00:16:14
Speaker
You're going to make sure that we have links in the show notes so that people can see your pieces.
00:16:20
Speaker
Yes, of course.
00:16:21
Speaker
Yes, yes.
00:16:22
Speaker
Awesome.
00:16:22
Speaker
And speaking of links, how can people follow you and your work online?
00:16:27
Speaker
The biggest one I use is Instagram.
00:16:30
Speaker
And so that's under my full name at Carly Rieger.
00:16:34
Speaker
Well, it's for people because I want to make sure people get it.
00:16:38
Speaker
Yeah.
00:16:39
Speaker
At C-A-R-L-Y-R-I-E-G-G-E-R.
00:16:45
Speaker
Awesome.
00:16:46
Speaker
And then I have a website as well that kind of displays the images a little nicer than Instagram does sometimes.
00:16:52
Speaker
And it's my full name again.
00:16:54
Speaker
Same thing.
00:16:55
Speaker
Awesome.
00:16:56
Speaker
Thank you so much for taking this time to speak with us today.
00:16:58
Speaker
It's a pleasure to hear all about your work and your story.
00:17:02
Speaker
I'm still picturing that big spinal rib cage piece.
00:17:08
Speaker
in my mind's eye and thinking about what that must've meant for you to do when you were just a teenager.
00:17:14
Speaker
So thank you for all that you shared with us today.
00:17:17
Speaker
And we are really looking forward to our upcoming episodes where you will be our guest host.
00:17:22
Speaker
Yes.
00:17:23
Speaker
Thank you so much.
Podcast Credits
00:17:31
Speaker
Able Voices is a production of the Berkeley Institute for Accessible Arts Education, led by me, Dr. Rhoda Bernard, the founding managing director.
00:17:40
Speaker
It is produced by Daniel Martinez del Campo.
00:17:43
Speaker
The intro music is by Kai Levin, and our closing song is by Sebastian Batista.
00:17:49
Speaker
Kai and Sebastian are students in the arts education programs at the Berkeley Institute for Accessible Arts Education.
00:17:56
Speaker
If you would like to learn more about our work, find us online at berkeley.edu.
00:18:01
Speaker
slash BIAE or email us at BIAE at Berkeley, that's L-E-E dot edu.