Charlotte Jacob-Maguire

As one might expect from an author, Charlotte Jacob-Maguire’s studio is full of books. Some of them are on display, including books by Amanda Cachia, Alison Kafer, and Aimi Hamraie on ableism and disabled time. Surprisingly, a number of collages that she made hang on the wall alongside works by other summer residents – evidence of her many talents.

During her residency, Charlotte worked on an article about two disabled artists, Chloé Lum and Po B. K. Lomami. A newcomer to the field of writing on art – her first article was published at the beginning of the pandemic – she intends to continue her reflection on artists with handicaps to raise their visibility.

A researcher with training in art history and anthropology, Charlotte conducts her analysis at the intersection of material, visual, and museum-related anthropology and critical studies on disability. She has written essays on biopower as represented by the artists Salima Punjani and Carolyn Lazard, and on the notion of “futurity” (the idea that the future imagined in the present has an influence on what happens later). In her view, works create connections between people and things when identity is seen in a dynamic perspective – as a structure in constant evolution within society.

As an activist, Charlotte is a member of a committee on handicaps and against ableism for a municipal political party in Montréal. Her desire to transform the world is also expressed in her work at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, where she is a consultant on capacity diversity and accessibility. This way, she connects theory to practice in a dialectical approach.