81
Collective
Launching Fall 2026
who we are
81 Collective is a nonprofit organization and network dedicated to empowering people with disabilities around the world through arts-based expression, creative skills training, economic access, and cultural recognition.
We connect disabled artists and designers—and the centers supporting them—to global markets, provide tools and resources for sustainable creative livelihoods, and champion disability-led innovation worldwide.
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OUR VISION
Imagine a world built around what people can do, not what holds them back. That's the future 81 Collective is working toward: one where disability is understood as strength, where economies make room for everyone, and where neurodivergent minds are met with spaces that affirm rather than exclude. In that world, talent finds its expression, culture grows richer, and innovation belongs to all of us.
3
Countries
5
Partner
Centers
550
Creatives
Connected
CASE STUDY
Tote Bag
81 Collective partnered with Floreale to create a limited-edition tote that brings art, purpose, and everyday utility together. Featuring original artwork by creatives with disabilities from around the world, this collaboration transforms a simple home-goods staple into a statement of inclusion, creativity, and shared impact—where thoughtful design supports meaningful livelihoods beyond the bag itself.
81 Collective takes its name from 1981, the year the United Nations declared the International Year of Disabled Persons and called for "full participation and equality" worldwide. Four decades later, that promise remains unmet. We carry it forward anyway, not as a slogan but as a mandate: building economic access and sustainable creative opportunity for disabled artists worldwide, until participation and equality are not just declared but delivered.
1981
Let's Talk
Contact us today about working together, supporting our mission, or just to say Hi.