Steve Kean

Steve Kean is a photographer originally from Sudbury who has been living in Toronto for the over 25 years. He came to photography while in high school where he was failing art class. Kean's disability made it difficult for him to draw or paint, but he still had a burning need to create art. A camera was the answer for him. Mostly self-taught, Steve has made tens-of-thousands of images over more than thirty years attempting to master his craft.

Steve describes himself as both a disabled photographer and a photographer with a disability. What's the difference? Why not use just one descriptor? Well, they are not interchangeable. He identifies as a disabled photographer because he lives and creates art in a world that is not designed to accommodate him and his wheelchair. People are more comfortable with "artist with a disability." Perhaps this is because it acknowledges Kean as a person first and frames his disability a part of him rather than the world around him.