Sue Austin
Disability Activist | Pioneering Underwater Wheelchair Performances
About
Sue Austin is a disability activist and artist who has challenged perceptions of disability through her groundbreaking underwater wheelchair performances. Confined to a wheelchair since the 1990s, Austin created a custom-built, self-propelled wheelchair that allows her to gracefully glide through the water.
Her TED talk, 'Creating my reality', has been viewed over 1 million times, inspiring audiences to reframe disability as a source of creative potential. Austin's keynotes share her journey of self-empowerment, offering a unique perspective on adaptive technology, inclusion, and human resilience.
Talks1
Deep sea diving ... in a wheelchair
When Sue Austin got a power wheelchair, she felt a tremendous sense of freedom -- yet others looked at her as though she had lost something. In her art, she conveys the spirit of wonder she feels wheeling through the world. Includes thrilling footage of an underwater wheelchair that lets her explore ocean beds, drifting through schools of fish, floating free in 360 degrees.
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