“Alt Text Selfie.” Alt Text Selfies curated by Bojana Coklyat, Finnegan Shannon, and Olivia Dreisinger (2024).

Curatorial Statement

“Alt text selfie” is an open term. Our understanding of what an alt text selfie might be is always shifting and changing. Selfies and self-descriptions are often visually focused, but, to us, an alt text selfie doesn’t need to center around visuals, or literally describe an image. As the selfies gathered on this website exemplify, alt text selfies can blend smell, taste, touch, sound, and more. At their core, alt text selfies are an access practice, tools for connecting across sensory experiences and distance.

Alt Text Selfie

[Image description: A black-and-white photo of a middle-aged white guy sitting at the window of a cafe. Above his head, the window of the cafe features five icons similar to those found on iPhones. The icons indicate: coffee, Instagram, food, Wi-Fi, and croissants. The man often tries to avoid having his photo taken, preferring to be the one behind the camera. He sits awkwardly pretending to write with a pen in his hand and with his head looking down at his notebook. His slender index finger on his right hand, the one holding a pen, has some dried blood next to the nail due to a neglected hangnail. His left hand is rubbing his chin which sports three day old stubble. He wears thick, black rimmed prescription glasses, a dark toque that has scruffs of hair sticking out at the front and the back, a well-worn custom made t-shirt featuring a collage by Winston Hacking, slightly dirty blue jeans, and a pair of black sneakers that have large white stains due to the walking through melting snow that has mixed with road salt.]