Studio Practice
Bill Porter is a multidisciplinary artist who works at the intersection of personal history and cultural critique. His research-based studio practice stems from a lifelong curiosity about the stories and symbols that shape people’s understanding of the world and how those narratives can reinforce perceptions, prejudices, and inequalities. Drawing on both his own experience with an inherited retinal disorder that causes progressive vision loss and the collective realities of the blind and low vision community, Bill’s current work confronts systemic ableism, tracing the threads that bind it into the fabric of our shared culture.
Education
MFA in Visual Arts, Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, 2015
BFA in Animation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1998
Certificate in Film Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1997
Teaching
Bill is an Adjunct Professor at Lesley Art + Design, where he has taught studio art courses since 2015 in the Animation & Motion Media and Integrated Studies departments and served as a faculty juror for BFA Junior and Senior Animation film reviews. Beyond higher education, he teaches online and in-person studio classes designed for artists with disabilities, including his new role developing and leading studio sessions in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Access Studio program.
Disability & Advocacy
Bill identifies as disabled. He is blind/low vision (Retinitis Pigmentosa) and dyslexic. His lived experience shapes both his creative practice and his advocacy. Bill works to advance accessibility, equity, and disability rights, with a focus on amplifying the perspectives of people with disabilities in public, cultural, and educational spaces.
He has spoken at venues ranging from university classrooms to international summits, sharing insights on disability, inclusion, and creative practice. Beyond public speaking, Bill has organized campaigns, curated exhibitions, and hosted panels that center disabled voices and challenge ableist assumptions. His work reflects a commitment to building community and creating platforms that recognize disabled people as leaders, storytellers, and change-makers.
He founded and formerly chaired the Lesley University Disability Advocacy and Education Group, served on the Lesley Art + Design Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice Committee, and is a graduate of the ASPECT Program (Advocacy, Support, Perspective, Empowerment, Communication, and Training). Bill also serves on the Littleton, Massachusetts, Disability Commission.
Scholarly Research
Since 2017, Bill has collaborated with a five-member, cross-disciplinary faculty team at Lesley University to study effective peer feedback. As part of this research, he helped develop and refine a three-step protocol for student-led peer critique/review, which the team has presented at national and international conferences. Their work culminated in the 2022 publication of Student-Led Peer Review: A Practical Guide to Implementation Across Disciplines and Modalities, providing a practical resource for educators across various fields.
From 2015 to 2016, Bill participated in the Visual Literacy inFUSION Project, a Davis Grant–funded, cross-disciplinary faculty study program centered on visual literacy. He was a member of the faculty cohort Decoding Mass Media: Deconstructing TV, Cinema, and Photography in Your Courses.
Bill’s current research focuses on critical disability studies, with particular attention to the cultural history of blindness, the contemporary disability arts movement, and the aesthetics of access.
Professional Work History
Before 2014, Bill worked as a professional artist and designer across multiple disciplines, including character animation, motion media, illustration, multimedia design, video production, graphic design, and photography. He created character-driven, interactive educational media and animated promotional videos for clients such as PBS Kids, Addison Wesley, and the Aardvark Design Group. As a motion graphics designer, he collaborated with clients in broadcast (WHDH CW56), technology (HP), and government (US Secret Service).
Bill also directed and edited videos for organizations including Simmons College, Boston College, and Coldwell Banker, and designed characters and environments for website interfaces and marketing materials as a freelance illustrator. His illustrations have been published in several books across seven countries.