When I was growing up in Indonesia, society had a vastly different attitude towards people with disability. We were the ‘other’. 

Many of the words associated with disability in Indonesia translated to ‘damaged’ or ‘impaired’. Many were used as insults. Even the politically correct version emphasised what we lived without – sight, hearing or intellect.

Despite this, to be successful meant we were expected to overcome barriers arising from our disability. We should also uplift and inspire. Conforming to these expectations was the price for being different.

Ria Andriani. Photo © Katje Ford

It was as a blind adult and artist that I started to query why it was acceptable for society to put up barriers to keep us out in the first place.

In 2022, against this backdrop of growing awareness, I joined members of Ensemble Offspring to perform the Australian premiere of Molly Joyce’s song cycle Form (conform and reform). Joyce is a US composer who acquired a physical disability after being involved in a car accident. 

‘Conform’ and ‘reform’ underscore the tension between what is perceived as physical or sensory impairment and what some might consider a diverse kind of normal.

One school...