Art / Accessibility / Advocacy
1 in 4 adults nationwide have a disability. This means it's likely that you have one, will develop one, or will grow close to someone with one. So why is inaccessibility still so prevalant?
Hi, I'm Rishika Kartik, a student at Brown University creating my own major in "Disability and Design." Growing up near the Colorado Center for the Blind inspired my dream to make spaces, products, and experiences more accessible for those with disabilities!
What I’ve worked on:
As the founder of “Touch and Create Studios” and the “Vision of the Artist's Soul” project, I've partnered with multiple museums to increase access and created artistic and educational opportunities for blind people nationwide. In high school, I collaborated with mentors to advocate for legislation at the Capitol and teach blind children STEM, braille literacy, and independent living skills training. I've also been involved with research at the Bedny Neuroplasticity Lab at Johns Hopkins and the American Foundation for the Blind.
What I’m up to:
Now in college, I'm eager to bridge the gap between medical and social aspects of disability using accessible design. I've started to explore this by helping underresourced patients access disability/social services as a Connect for Health Advocate at the Center for Primary Care, RI, and by helping form community around vision loss as part of the 2023 global cohort of the ASPECT Patient Engagement Program. As a 2023 Royce Fellowship Recipient, I researched the importance of tactile art for rehabilitation in blind communities and presented my work at multiple conferences/institutions. I'm currently conducting research with CU Anschutz physicians to make gynecology clinics more accessible to those with disabilities.
Awards/Honors: I'm a TEDx speaker, a 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholar, a Coca-Cola Scholar, a Live Más Scholar, and the recipient of the 2021 INSITE Grant, the 2020 Arts In Society Grant, and the 2021 Dairy Arts Center Micro-Grant. My work has been featured by Forbes Magazine, KRDO, CBS Denver + more
In my free time, I love teaching, speaking, and writing! I've created and co-taught two courses at Brown, "Blindness, Arts, and Media," and "Gerodesign," and my writing has been published in papers such as Future Reflections Magazine and the Braille Monitor. In the future, I hope to continue exploring my interest in disability/medicine, and sharing my journey through my website, rishikastudio.com!