Apply

Prosthetic Design Stories Panel Discussion Oct. 5

September 27, 2021
Submitted By: Mary DiLeo
U.S. Paralympic athlete Femita Ayanbeku (right) will speak at the virtual panel discussion

Join us for Prosthetic Design Stories, a virtual panel discussion, on Tuesday, Oct. 5 from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. as part of the Bespoke Bodies: The Design & Craft of Prosthetics exhibition at Joseloff Gallery. Learn about prosthetic design through personal stories from prosthetists and prosthetic device users themselves, and hear about the unique process of developing a device that is customized for each individual.

The discussion will feature exhibit contributors: 

  • Femita Ayanbeku, US Paralympian and founder of the nonprofit Limb-It-Less Creations Incorporated 
  • Brian Heckathorn, Certified Prosthetist and Orthotist 
  • Abby Hoffman-Finitsis, Assistant Professor of Prosthetics and Orthotics at University of Hartford
  • Rod Rinell, patient model at University of Hartford 

Bespoke Bodies is a multimedia traveling exhibition by Design Museum Everywhere that explores the past, present, and future of prosthetic design on a global scale through personal stories of people who use prostheses as well as case studies of innovations in the field. Developed with a committee of advisors made up of people who use and create prostheses, Bespoke Bodies aims to help broaden conversations around disability and shared resources. The exhibition features over 40 stories from around the world — spanning DIY inventions from children to mind-controlled bionic limbs — shared by the patients, clinicians, designers, and artists who are changing how we think about the future of human mobility. Bespoke Bodies is on view at Joseloff Gallery at the University of Hartford through Oct. 9, 2021.

Learn more and register for the panel discussion.