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#ArtHeals – Seeing Invisible Disabilities Through the Arts

Aug 18, 2025 | Blog, Art Heals

Join our 2025 #ArtHeals campaign, amplify stories from people with invisible disabilities, and discover or share powerful art therapy offerings!

By our Campaign Coordinator Iris and the Athena Social Media Team

About Iris

Iris graduated from the University of Denver in June 2025, earning her BA in Political Science with minors in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and Leadership Studies. She has a passion for social justice, activism, and community organizing, which she has brought to her work at Athena Project. Since she joined the Athena team two years ago, Iris has focused on expanding the #ReproductiveJustice campaign, which amplifies the voices of artists fighting for reproductive rights.
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Welcome to the Movement

At Athena, we believe that art has the power to spark connection, inspire empathy, and offer support throughout processes of healing. Welcome to the 2025 #ArtHeals campaign!
#ArtHeals is all about illuminating the role that art plays in people’s lives, exploring how creative spaces provide comfort and promote healing throughout life’s many seasons. This year, we have designed Campaign #ArtHeals with a particular focus on amplifying stories shared by people with invisible disabilities experiencing the impacts of art.

As defined by the Invisible Disability Project, an invisible disability “is any physical, mental, or emotional impairment that goes largely unnoticed.” Invisible disabilities encompass a wide range of disabilities that people experience, including ADHD, autism, chronic pain, diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and MANY others.

Digital illustration with a strong 70s aesthetic. It's a bedroom scene, with a woman sitting on the bed with long brown hair, purple flower earrings, a purple mini dress with white flowers and sheer sleeves along with a pair of fringe go-go boots. On the nightstand is a prescription bottle, water bottle, eye patch and pain reliever. There's a speech bubble that reads, 'not all disabilities are visible.'
This piece was created by Caitlin Blunnie (@liberaljane on Instagram), who grants free sharing as long as it includes a tag and credit.
Though at least 10% of people in the United States are estimated to have an invisible disability, as their name suggests, these invisible disabilities often go unseen, not always aligning with people’s misplaced assumptions about what disabilities “look like.” Campaign #ArtHeals seeks to illuminate the unseen by providing a space for sharing, reflection, and visibility. It will also provide room to explore, in community, art as a meaningful experience for people with invisible disabilities.
We Want to Hear from YOU

Athena’s 2025 #ArtHeals campaign focuses on creating a space to amplify the voices and experiences of people with invisible disabilities. Recognizing that artistic expression can play a powerful role in people’s lives and journeys, we are inviting artists and community members to share their stories describing how art has been a source of physical, emotional, or spiritual healing or comfort. We welcome stories centering any form of engagement with the arts, including the creation of or interaction with art in any medium. If you are inspired by this prompt and have a story to share, we invite you to submit it, alongside the piece(s) of art that your story describes, using this form.

Then, the stories and artworks we receive will be shared on Athena’s social media pages and/or website during the September 2025 #ArtHeals campaign. When completing the form, there will be an option to select whether or not you would like your story to be shared anonymously.
Please note that the focus of this campaign is on the impact of art on people with invisible disabilities. However, all stories about the way #ArtHeals are welcome at all times.

In addition to personal stories, we are calling for submissions highlighting any professional form of art therapy or similar art-related healing modalities that you would like Athena to share online. We recognize the therapeutic power of art and are always looking to share resources with our community members. We welcome the submission of these resources using the same form (just scroll down on the form to the “Therapeutic Offering” section and fill out the subsequent information).

Digital illustration of a large group of disabled people of different ethnicities, ages, and genders. Among the crowd are service and emotional support animals. There's two smaller protest signs that read, 'I shouldn't lose benefits when I get married.' And 'ban subminimum wage.' The main sign reads, 'disabled people are experts of their own lives and know what they need.'
This piece was created by Caitlin Blunnie (@liberaljane on Instagram), who grants free sharing as long as it includes a tag and credit.
Supporting People with Invisible Disabilities
It is important to recognize that invisible disabilities do not affect every person in the same way. Still, for many, these disabilities can have significant impacts on everyday life: at home, at school, in the workplace, and beyond. It is essential to believe and center the voices of people with invisible disabilities, rather than falling back on harmful assumptions or stereotypes about how someone’s life may be impacted by something that others cannot see.

Ableism, defined as discrimination against people with disabilities, creates structural barriers for these people, often leading to a lack of accessibility or accommodation in public spaces, judgment, and even the questioning of whether someone’s disability is “real,” especially when it cannot be seen. Ableist expectations and discriminatory conceptions of what is “normal behavior” also lead to masking, which happens when people with disabilities hide or mask—consciously or subconsciously—traits of their disability, which can have harmful impacts on people’s mental and physical health. And, in the art world specifically, ableism can occur, for example, when characters with disabilities are portrayed by actors without disabilities.

In order to combat inequity and ableism, there are steps that can be taken to become an ally to people with disabilities.
Graphic with text that reads, '5 ways to increase accessibility online.' The tips include: have closed captioning, record events, share content warnings, use alternative text to describe images and avoid flashing graphics.
This piece was created by Caitlin Blunnie (@liberaljane on Instagram), who grants free sharing as long as it includes a tag and credit.

We can start by working to destigmatize and normalize the terms “disabled” and “disability.” By shattering this stigma, we can combat discriminatory practices that limit visibility and equitable opportunity for people with disabilities and we can help people with invisible disabilities feel safe to ask for the care and support they need.

Other steps include avoiding harmful language that perpetuates stereotypes and “inspiration porn” that objectifies people with disabilities, fighting for visibility and accessibility, and—it bears repeating—listening to and believing people with disabilities. People are the experts on their own stories and experiences.

The fight for accessibility and inclusion must address the inequities that exist across society’s many institutions, including schools, workplaces, virtual and online platforms, and political spaces. A more accessible and inclusive workplace, for example, offers flexibility for employees and encourages employers to emphasize quality work over the quantity of work completed by people with invisible disabilities, since they may experience illness, fatigue, panic attacks, etc. as a result of a disability—even if those experiences are not visible.
Accessible healthcare is also essential. Lack of coverage can make it difficult for people with disabilities to get the medications or care that they need to live their lives, and recent attacks on Medicaid from the Trump Administration may further jeopardize access to care. In the artist community specifically, there is often a lack of security when it comes to healthcare access—so people with disabilities, and people with disabilities who are artists, may experience disproportionate impacts of inadequate healthcare coverage. So, if political activism is your jam, consider using your platform to advocate for legislation that favors equity and accessibility in healthcare spaces and beyond.
As emphasized by Linda Williams, the founder of Invisible Disability Project, “Inclusion is not a performance. Inclusion is a value.”
Opportunities to Amplify Campaign #ArtHeals
Inspired to take further action to support this campaign? You can help us achieve our goals! To amplify the voices of people with invisible disabilities and to highlight the power of art as a source of comfort and healing:
Digital illustration of a disabled white woman with blonde hair with a walker. She's pointing to her back which has text that reads, 'increased accessibility benefits everyone.'
This piece was created by Caitlin Blunnie (@liberaljane on Instagram), who grants free sharing as long as it includes a tag and credit.

IMAGE & CONTENT CREDITS:

All stories and their accompanying images, unless otherwise indicated, belong to their authors and must not be reproduced without seeking their permission.