mixed feelings | Saverio & Noah Gokul

mixed feelings is a radio show exploring accessibility in the arts from the experience and practices of disabled artists worldwide – an ongoing experiment in multiple ways of broadcasting and making radio accessible beyond hearing-only experiences.

In this episode, saverio and Noah Gokul present and discuss the ongoing community work of a circle of friends and comrades who are learning from the Disability Justice movement to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon. As Jasbir K. Puar writes in The Right to Maim (2017), the production of most of the world’s disability happens through colonial violence, developmentalism, war, occupation, and the disparity of resources. The hour-long episode seeks to illustrate the importance of a Disability Justice approach that centers collective liberation; recognizing that the freedom of oppressed and colonized people is intertwined with collective access and disability liberation. Referencing the work of Judith Butler, Jasbir K. Puar, Aimé Césaire, and Frantz Fanon (in the voice of Lauryn Hill), as well as introducing the work developed with community peers Elliot and Lian who will be producing upcoming radio episodes, this iteration of mixed feelings holds space for grief and rage.

This episode is mainly in spoken English, a transcript is available here. *** With a commitment to practices that explore sounds in all forms, mixed feelings is co-curated by Saverio Cantoni, Dana Cermane, and SchwarzRund, merging conversation and sound art, music, and experimental practices transforming our present. mixed feelings is guided by a notion of accessibility as an empowering creative territory – What would the radio be like if it were accessible to Deaf folks? Are we willing to give space to the Deaf community in a conventionally hearing-only territory? As an ongoing format initiated in 2021 and since hosted by Refuge Worldwide, mixed feelings unfolds in one-hour-long episodes in spoken languages and signing language (mainly International Sign Language), with screenreader-accessible transcripts accompanying each episode. This fluid format evolves over time, recognizing accessibility as a still very speculative practice, and the folks involved in this project will shape it by merging individual experiences and communal thinking.

mixed feelings is part of the initiative DRAUSSENSTADT, funded by Berliner Projektfonds Urbane Praxis and the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. With special thanks to Frances, George, Graeme, Leona, Linnéa, Nicky, and Richard.