Megan Bent
2024-25 Culture Push Disability Arts Curatorial Fellow
Megan Bent (she/her) is a lens-based artist interested in ways image-making can happen beyond "traditional" media and methods. She is drawn to processes that reflect and embrace her disabled experience; especially interdependence, impermanence, care, and slowness. Her most recent work focuses on personal experiences of healthcare denials and critiques the use of AI in healthcare. She is interested in weaving together her health justice activism and art practice.
Her work has been exhibited domestically and abroad at venues including The U.N. Headquarters, NY, NY; Root Division, San Francisco, CA; form & concept, Santa Fe, NM; F1963, Busan, South Korea; and Fotonostrum, Barcelona, Spain. She was a recent recipient of the 2023 Wynn Newhouse Awards. Her work has been featured in Lenscratch, Analog Forever Magazine, Fraction Magazine, Rfotofolio, and Float Photography Magazine.
Headshot: Megan stands in front of a brick wall. She has pale skin, blue eyes, and shoulder-length brown hair with bangs. She is wearing a black sweater with lace sleeves and an aqua N-95 face mask. On the wall is a framed chlorophyll print self-portrait of Megan in a facemask.
Image: A black and white photo of a hospital gown against a black background. The white gown has a black dot pattern. There is a light leak on the left side of the film that resembles a light grey door or window. There are highlights and shadows from window panes on top of the gown, they are reminiscent of the light from an x-ray machine.
Image: A denial of coverage letter. Megan's father's name, Gary Bent is at the top of the letter. Much of the text is redacted or blacked out. What is left reads “Denied. Denied. Denied. You need, you need, you need, you need. No. You do not. You cannot.”