Michaela Oteri

Illustration
Massachusetts, USA

Artist Development Fund recipient, 2021

See more of Michaela’s work on Adobe Stock

A selfie photo of Michaela, a fat white woman with black hair that fades to vibrant purple. She is wearing glasses, multiple necklaces, and has subtle face piercings. She is wearing black lipstick that matches her nail polish, a purple shirt, and she is holding a pen in her right hand. She is sitting in her wheelchair outside.

A digital portrait depicting a fat white woman with blue/purple dyed hair pulled back into a ponytail. She is wearing a crop top that reads "The Future Is Accessible" and a black plaid skirt. She is holding up a pen in her right hand while sitting in a wheelchair and holding a pair of forearm crutches. The background is a blue/purple and art nouveau inspired with vining purple wisteria flowers.

"I want to spread representation for fellow self-identified disabled people of all different backgrounds for use by fellow artists.”

Meet Michaela

Michaela Oteri (she/her) is a queer, disabled digital artist from the U.S., based in Massachusetts, USA. Her specialty is depicting diverse people and experiences. She has spent years creating her Disabled Beauty portrait series, and works to represent disabled people of all backgrounds. A wheelchair user with low vision, she draws on her own lived experiences to depict disabled people in empathetic, empowering images buoyed by elements of fantasy.

For her Artist Development Fund commission, Michaela is creating a collection of illustrations that reflect this positive, empowered vision, inspired by the Celebration of Self creative brief. She says, "I want to spread representation for fellow self-identified disabled people of all different backgrounds for use by fellow artists.”