Aimi Hamraie
(pronounced “amy” “ham-raa-ee”)I write about disability, accessibility, and technology.
I make things and plant trees.
Contact me via Email
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Bio / Media Kit
[Image description: Aimi Hamraie, an olive-skinned person with short dark curly hair, smiles at the camera. They wear rectangular glasses and a blue button-up shirt. Behind them is a blurry green background]
Contact
Email: aimi.hamraie@vanderbilt.edu
Headshots
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One sentence bio
Aimi Hamraie is a disabled designer and design researcher and author of Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability (2017).
Bio, academic
Aimi Hamraie is Associate Professor of Medicine, Health, & Society and American Studies at Vanderbilt University, and director of the Critical Design Lab. Hamraie is author of Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability (University of Minnesota Press, 2017) and host of the Contra* podcast on disability and design. They are a 2022 United States Artists Fellow. Hamraie’s research is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the Smithsonian Institution, the Mellon Foundation, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Arts, and the National Humanities Alliance. They are quoted by the New York Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, National Public Radio, the History Channel, the Huffington Post, Art News, and others.
Bio, public
Aimi Hamraie is Associate Professor of Medicine, Health, & Society and American Studies at Vanderbilt University, and director of the Critical Design Lab. Hamraie is author of Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability (University of Minnesota Press, 2017) and host of the Contra* podcast on disability and design. They are a 2022 United States Artists Fellow. They are quoted by the New York Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, National Public Radio, the History Channel, the Huffington Post, Art News, and others.
Bio, arts
Aimi Hamraie directs the Critical Design Lab, a multidisciplinary and international collaborative of disabled artists, designers, and design researchers. They are a 2022 United States Artists Fellow and host of the Contra* podcast. With Cassandra Hartblay and Jarah Moesch, Hamraie co-curated #CripRitual, a multi-site exhibition of twenty-five disabled artists at the Tangled Arts and Disability and Doris McCarthy Galleries in Toronto. Hamraie’s creative practice spans social practice and design (wood, leather, textiles, architecture, and landscapes).
Accessibility Rider
All events must have an accessibility plan. When requesting an event with me, please describe your accessibility plan in this Event Request form. I do not participate in events that do not advertise available accessibility, including ASL and CART, and plan a budget for this from the beginning.
If you are requesting a podcast recording, please include your plan for simultaneous release of the text transcript with the episode. I highly encourage all podcasters to adopt protocols for accessible podcasting, and make transcripts available for all episodes.
For in-person events, my access needs include: fragrance-free policy (included in the event publicity); presentation space without LED or flourescent lighting (window lighting is great); presentation space without loud buzzing sounds; breaks between events; no more than two events per day; lodging (when applicable) organized in consultation with me to ensure accessibility; and a text-based itenerary of all events sent at least three days prior to my visit. I cannot do events that do not have these forms of access in place.