Larissa MacFarlane

Larissa MacFarlane (they/she) is a queer feminist visual artist and disability activist based in Naarm/Melbourne, on the lands of the Kulin nation. They work across a printmaking, street art and community art practice and use their experience of a 24-year-old brain injury to investigate Disabled culture, community, identity and pride. Larissa has been exhibiting in galleries and streets across Victoria and nationally/internationally through Print Exchanges, since 2006. They are well known for their street art which investigates their daily ritual of performing handstands, a key part of their disability self-management and now a personal symbol of disability pride.

For the past two decades, Larissa has been active in the Self-Advocacy and Disability Justice movements, leading and collaborating on many community and arts projects. In 2017, they produced Australia’s first Disability Pride mural, leading 50 disabled people to collaborate on a large scale paste up in Footscray. They have since produced several more disability pride
themed murals as well as a short film and book that documents that first infamous mural. They have also been making and sharing Disability and Crip Pride badges since 2017.

Larissa currently sits on the board of Arts Access Australia as Deputy Chair, as well as several other arts/disability advisory committees, speaks on panels and occasionally delivers arts workshops and self-advocacy training.

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