www.diverseabilitymagazine.com DIVERSEability Magazine 73
M
andy Harvey, who landed in the nations living rooms in 2017 with exquisite singing on America's Got Talent, recently released her fifth album. Paper Cuts is a collection of stories and lessons learned, Harvey said in an interview with DIVERSEability Magazine . The album took form after my song 'Masterpiece' was created. It is about embracing who you are and the entire journey thats brought you to where you are now. Each part is worth celebrating, even the parts that have been the hardest. It's vital to Harvey, who is deaf, that people who live in worlds with dimmed or no sound be able to experience Paper Cuts , which was independently funded, as well as all of her music. Paper Cuts is a labor of love that at the end of the day, I will never be able to hear, said the 34-year-old. I very much want to have an opportunity to experience this album along with the entire deaf and hard of hearing community. I teamed up with Voya Financial to make sure that we could increase accessibility by having an ASL video for each song performed on the album by deaf performers. There are several music videos that are visual representations of the songs that were captioned in multiple languages, too This project has been an amazing continuation of our ongoing collaboration to increase awareness of the need for greater disability inclusion. We want to start conversations about inclusion, as well as spread the important messages of these songs, which include mental health awareness and celebrating being unique. While many companies have pledged to be more inclusive and diversity-minded, its a work-in-progress. I dream of both venues and events that have interpreters and access to various means of communication, Harvey said. The opportunity to offer art in multiple forms to people and places that typically wouldnt have access to it. There are so many ways to be more inclusive, but it has to be a thoughtful choice and not just wishing things were better. There are encouraging signs. I have noticed more ASL inclusion, like this past Super Bowl during the national anthem, for example, and there are a lot more businesses on all sides that are letting their employees know that it's OK to be different
COURTESY OF MANDY HARVEY COURTESY OF ICICLE CREEK CENTER FOR THE ARTS
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