Launched 12/3/25 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities

The Ball & Chain Campaign is a collaborative art and advocacy project that transforms the invisible weight of chronic illness, disability, and diagnostic delay into a shared, visible symbol. Each participant’s “ball” is uniquely designed to represent the burdens they carry—delayed diagnosis, disbelief, medical gaslighting, economic strain, and the emotional cost of navigating systems that weren’t built with them in mind.

Created in partnership with the Vermont Commission on Women (VCW) and Disability Rights Vermont (DRVT), the campaign uses visual storytelling and lived experience to highlight a simple truth: the heaviest chains are the ones the public doesn’t see.

Through portraiture, narrative prompts, and community participation, the project reframes disability awareness as a systems-level issue of perception, communication, and policy. The campaign invites viewers to reflect on what burdens become “normalized,” who is asked to carry them, and how collective understanding can become the key that sets people free.