Artists Respond: Safety in Neighbors
By Springboard for the Arts
The Leslye Orr Fund provides non-competitive direct support for artists with disabilities in Minnesota to create work and invest in their careers. Inspired by Leslye Orr’s advocacy for “the possibilities of disabilities,” this fund fosters artistry, inclusivity, and community joy.
Grants are $2,500 each, and will be awarded to four artists per funding cycle, selected through a randomized drawing of eligible applicants. Apply for the fund.
Leslye Orr (1955-2025) was a Minnesota-based playwright, performer and teacher well-known for her workshops on the integration of people with disabilities. She was blind from birth, and learned to walk by following her mother’s finger snaps. After 18 eye surgeries, she gained low tunnel vision in her right eye. She proudly referred to herself as a “cyclops,” and saw her disability as a gift that fostered her big imagination. Leslye was the creator of many unforgettable solo shows, from her signature comedy Women Who Drink, to Wisecracks from My Father, and What I Thought I Saw: Random Acts of Blindness. She toured her disability awareness play Hand in Hand to all fifty states, and internationally with the U.S. Department of State. From 2006 to 2023, she co-ran Dreamland Arts, a 40-seat black box theater attached to her family’s house in St. Paul. It was a space for artists of all backgrounds to tell their stories. Read more about Leslye’s extraordinary life and work.
The Leslye Orr Memorial Fund for Artists with Disabilities is managed by Springboard for the Arts and sustained by community support. Contribute to the fund.
Header Image Credit: portrait of the artist courtesy of her family, photo by Lauren B. Photography.
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