Hi, my name is Rachel, I'm a Melbourne based fashion practitioner currently creating on Wurundjeri land.

My practice currently looks at creating accessible and inclusive fashion design which is clothing for people with disabilities.

The title of this project is called Metropolis and it was inspired. by my own barriers of inaccessibility whilst navigating a city essentially that is vastly populated but still so inaccessible.

My intention going into We Belong was to create connection and belonging with the students through creativity.

I want this project to be a celebration of disability and a symbol of the hidden struggles that is often experienced by many of us who identify as being d/Deaf and or disabled.

Stage 1, Metropolis was about creating a space for people who identified as being deaf and disabled. The room was lined with calico, which is an unbleached form of cotton, and it was completely blank.

It was a space where they could be allowed to express themselves freely and move, however they wanted to move. As joyful and as playful as it was, it was also a space for pain and contemplation.

A student remarked that, “having the freedom welcomed inside the space allowed me to earnestly drag my pained body, no pretending in movements, jaunted, frustrated, stiff, dynamic, creak.”

So it was a real space for connection, empowerment, and creating a sense of community.

Stage 2, Metropolis was about opening the invitation to everybody, regardless of access needs, and once they got inside the space, they found that the room was filled with barriers and they had to make their own journey.

I was really struck with how other students had started to rethink inclusion collectively rather than a fixed way. One student commented, “I realised that you can't build a city out of seeing just one perspective. We need a better overview of the whole area to connect places with each other, instead of making singular places accessible, and claiming the whole area to be.”

Stage 3 was where we invited a performer who identified as being disabled into the space to create a final journey. It was a way of connecting the space and the stories together.

Throughout this process, I've come to believe that by dedicating safe spaces and working with multidisciplinary creatives, we open the door to meaningful arts that explore marginalised experiences such as disability and the intersections that shape them. They safeguard against burnout, reminding us that collective care and shared expressions can be vital in sustaining our work and ourselves.

I want the students to come away from this project with a sense of belonging and connection, but also a stronger sense of what inclusion and accessibility actually means, and consider what being an ally for accessibility means in their own personal lives.

You might see the text, “notice the marks you make”. During this process, Notice The Marks You Make evolved from an observation of care into a call for action.

I hope that it serves as a moment in this journey, showing the marks and the movements that are in the spaces we share, and reminding us that accessibility is only the first step to creating a community of belonging. I invite you all to notice the marks you make and their deep impact.