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KnoxRoxs: Autistic Joy
A Photozine Retrospective Exhibition by Jen White-Johnson

Julio Fine Arts Gallery/Loyola University
Baltimore, MD 
Exhibition Dates: September 8 - October 10, 2025

Exhibition and community programming:
Autistic Justice & Joy, A Disability Zine Making Workshop

October 8, 2025

Exhibition Statement: 

The Framework: Disabled Mothering as Resistance

My journey as an artist is deeply intertwined with my role as a parent. It wasn't until my son was diagnosed as autistic at age three that I began to fully embrace my own neurodivergence. I recognize my art and design practice as a critical tool for redefining my role as a disabled parent raising a disabled child. This perspective informs a framework I call "Disabled Mothering as an Act of Resistance."

This framework aims to empower and activate change, amplifying what happens when we center disabled parenting. It's a weapon of creative resistance that dismantles the demonization and social inaccuracies often aimed at autistic children and adults. Now more than ever, we need designs crafted by disabled artists for the disabled community. Disabled artists are the blueprint.

A Personal Journey

From a young age, I knew I was different. While I was gleefully goofy at home and with friends, I experienced selective mutism in school due to being overwhelmed and to avoid bullying. Art became a tool and a language that didn't discriminate. It allowed me to be my authentic self and carried me through college and into motherhood. As a parent, masking my disabilities became harder, prompting me to explore how my art could be a powerful tool for community engagement and advocacy, celebrating disability joy.

My advocacy journey began with a photo zine, KnoxRoxs, released in 2018, dedicated to my autistic son, and re-released in 2024, with additional photography. This project was a way to provide much-needed visibility to children of color within neurodivergent communities. I hope this exhibition is the first of many opportunities to co-curate disability-centered shows, continuing to disrupt and dismantle social stigmas.