Intersectionality: Race, Poverty, Disability
What is intersectionality, and why does it matter?
Intersectionality means recognising how overlapping identities- like race, class, gender, and disability- compound discrimination. A disabled child in poverty faces different (and often greater) barriers than a white middle-class peer. Systems aren’t built to support these layered experiences.
How does poverty intensify disability challenges?
Poverty reduces access to diagnosis, therapy, suitable housing, and legal recourse. Families often can’t afford private help or time off work to fight complex systems. Financial strain makes already exhausting battles even harder... and traps many in a cycle of crisis.
How does race impact support for disabled people?
Black and ethnic minority families often face institutional bias, language barriers, and reduced trust in services. Research shows they are less likely to be believed by professionals, more likely to face delays, and less likely to get culturally competent care.
Why isn’t the system designed to support complex needs?
Services are siloed and underfunded. There’s no joined-up response for people who sit at multiple intersections of need. As a result, families fall through the cracks — or burn out trying to hold everything together themselves.
What has this got to do with art?
When multiple systems fail at once because of race, class, gender, or disability- the weight becomes unbearable. And yet, those living through it are often the least seen, the least heard.
NotFine.Art exists because traditional platforms erase this complexity.
Here, intersectional pain is not just acknowledged- it’s expressed, honoured, and shared. Art becomes a survival tool, a protest, a truth-teller. This space was built for those pushed furthest to the margins to say: your voice matters, your story belongs, and your art deserves the wall.
Explore the gallery or share your own creative response. Because together, creativity becomes a force for change.
Things YOU can do to help
✦ Challenge Invisibility
Don’t be afraid to speak up when intersectional experiences are sidelined in policy, media, or activism. Call it out. Representation matters. Not just in stories, but in solutions. Listen to those who face multiple forms of discrimination, and elevate their voices. Real change only happens when we see the whole picture and include everyone in the fight.
✦ Support Organisations Led by and for Marginalised Communities
Groups like Black Disabled People's Project, Race Equality Foundation, and Inclusion London are doing vital work to address inequality at its roots. They focus on equity, representation, and systemic reform—led by those with lived experience. Donate if you can, share their work widely, and help elevate the voices that too often go unheard.