A few lemons were thrown at us this past week - Network Connector had a minor hiccup (we fixed it!), mail has disappeared en route, my other half is lying on the floor with his back out, physio clinics are at capacity, our foster dog seems to be confusing indoors with outdoors and is it just me or did daylight just abruptly jump ship?
It’s Friday-amen-I-love-you-let's-make-a-sour-cocktail! Here are some things I wanted to share for your weekend:
- Artist. musician and writer JJJJJerome Ellis released a stunning album last week titled The Clearing about Black expression, time, and the possibilities of stuttering. It's beautiful.
- This is a tough but important and informative episode from Canadaland on the recent amendment to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and how it fails to give people the choice to live.
How do Deaf interpreters work? What does intersectionality look like in practice? Why can’t I say handicap? What should the volume setting be at for a relaxed performance? What does an access budget look like?!
Do you have any questions about disability or access? There's no shame in asking them, especially the one that everybody has but nobody wants to admit they have it!
We’ve set up a digital anonymous question box here - send us your burning question and we'll choose one to answer in the next newsletter.
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Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this email, you'd be doing us a big favour by forwarding it to someone else who might like it. If you got this from a friend and would like to subscribe yourself, please do so here!
Warmest,
Lindsay
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Highlights from the Community
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Human Rights Film Festival
What does it mean to give a sh*t? It means you’re fired up. It means you’re angry. But most importantly, it means you care. To give a sh*t means you won’t stand by while human rights abuses continue locally and around the globe. You want to learn more. You want to do something. You can do something. From December 1st to December 10th, join JAYU for the Human Rights Film Festival, a week of social justice focused art, film, workshops, and more. This year's festival program will include a blend of virtual and in-person events, and most events will be accessible online. Each evening of the festival will have a Held Space. All films will screen with open captions. ASL interpretation will be provided for all events, including films, performances, workshops, and talks.
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Sagatay (New Beginnings)
The Anishinaabe meaning of 'Sagatay' roughly translates to “a new beginning". In this show, the artists grapple with trauma and loss while looking forward to a new horizon with hope. Artists Jaene F. Castrillon, Danielle Hyde and Kate Meawasige each work on Turtle Island, the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Working in the framework of disability, they ‘wonder-work’ to gather in ceremony in a good way here, activating the sacred space for feeling and healing. Sagatay (New Beginnings) is on through December 17th at the Tangled Art Gallery - please note the gallery has moved to a new space, right beside their old gallery! Guided tours are available to be booked in-person or online via Zoom.
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A landscape’s spine by Florencia Sosa Rey and Eve Tagny
Following her practice’s ongoing investigations into gardens as sites of grief and renewal, Eve Tagny, along with collaborator Florencia Sosa Rey, has choreographed a performance as a closing gesture for the exhibition You sit in a garden, curated by Chris Andrews.This is free public event will be hosted by Critical Distance Centre For Curators on November 20th, outdoors at the performance pad in front of Artscape Youngplace. The performance will also be livestreamed on Zoom, including live, improvised open Audio Description (for both in-person and online) by Jennifer Brethour and Kat Germain. Captioning, ASL interpretation and Deaf interpretation with Ayoka Junaid and Tamyka Bullen will be included on Zoom.
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Describer Café: Describing Diversity
VocalEye hosts monthly conversations around the art of audio description for professionals, students, AD users and access providers via Zoom on the last Friday of the month. Continuing with their fall theme of Describing Diversity, the Café on November 26th will focus on the impact of inclusive description from a user’s perspective. Hosted by Amy Amantea, with a diverse panel of Audio Description users. This will be the final Describer Café in the autumn trio.
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Social Media / Communications Manager
All Bodies Dance Project is seeking a Social Media / Communications Manager to help them develop their social media presence and use online platforms to connect them with their community. Work from home with the possibility of co-working in the shared All Bodies Dance Project office space. Apply by December 5th.
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Playwriting Circle: Public Reading
Since September, ten playwrights who self-identify with disability or as Deaf have been meeting weekly with facilitator Natasha Nadir to create and develop new work. On December 4th, join Realwheels Theatre to celebrate the creativity of emerging playwrights Emily Brook, Ebony Gooden, Emma Kivisild, Sam MacPhee-Pitcher, Alex Masse, Gaitrie Persaud, Seeley Quest, Fiona Smith, Jennifer Strong, and Victoria Urquhart. Four Canadian actors will help bring these scripts to life during this online reading. ASL and live transcription will be provided.
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Community Day 2021: You Can Count on Us!
On December 4th, join Propeller Dance for their second online Community Day celebration! Their teachers, musicians, dancers and volunteers cordially invite you to join them for an afternoon on Cloud Nine - celebrating numbers and numeracy. The afternoon will include special dance presentations from each of their four classes, and a virtual dance party with MCs Kira and Dylan and DJ Sylvain, featuring your number themed song requests.
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19th Annual Regent Park Film Festival
The 19th Annual Regent Park Film Festival is taking place online again this year, with one in-person screening! Their programming is free to stream between November 25th and December 2nd. Registration is required. All films, shorts and panels are captioned and/or subtitled in English.
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Project Fire Flower Artists & Curator Talk
On December 2nd, join artists Collin van Uchelen and Carmen Papalia, along with curator Whitney Mashburn, for a conversation about the Project Fire Flower exhibition at grunt gallery. Immersively tactile, Fire Flower serves as a window into the evolving research process of Collin van Uchelen. A clinical psychologist and fireworks enthusiast, van Uchelen has been developing tactile methods for translating fireworks for years, most notably presented as Fingerworks for Fireworks at Vancouver’s Celebration of Light. After experiencing Fingerworks, socially engaged artist and community builder Carmen Papalia started a conversation with van Uchelen. This event will be presented on Zoom with automated captions and ASL interpretation.
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Call for Submissions: Inside Their Studio
The Ikouii Creative is now accepting submissions for the second edition of Inside Their Studio. This book project, which began in 2019, brought together 30 artists from 10 different countries. The publication drew together a range of practices and provided a rare glimpse into the artists studio practices, inspirations and personal journeys. Artists living with a disability are invited to apply to be included in the second edition of this ongoing book project. Interested artists can be located anywhere worldwide and practice in any medium to be considered. The deadline for submissions is December 5th.
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Beyond Walls
From November 25th to November 28th, Theatre Passe Muraille is hosting a free in-person festival from to gently welcome the community back into their theatre. As they look to reopening our doors after a year-long shutdown, their staff asked themselves the question: how can a theatre become a space of healing? In answer, Theatre Passe Muraille invites everyone who misses live performance to move with them, rest with them, listen with them, and to leave your mark at their theatre. Enjoy community movement performances, chair yoga, guided meditation, sensory bags, tactile artbooks, and audio works in a relaxed environment. ASL interpretation will be available on November 26th & 27th, and a transcript of the audio from their listening event will be available. Their Rest at the theatre event on November 27th will include low-sensory, low-impact programming.
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COVID Recovery Fund for Artists Information Session
Get your questions ready! On November 22nd, learn more about the City of Brampton and the Arts, Culture and Creative Industry Development Agency's new temporary funding program for 2021: the COVID-19 Recovery Fund for Artists. Alongside staff, they will review the program guidelines, application process, and how to apply. All are welcome. Captions and ASL interpretation will be available.
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Indigenous Art Writing Award
C Magazine and the Indigenous Curatorial Collective / Collectif des commissaires autochtones have launched the inaugural Indigenous Art Writing Award, an initiative created to support, compensate, and platform three standout individuals who are advancing critical and creative thought about Indigenous contemporary art. Indigenous writers in the first decade of their career are invited to submit a single text up to 2,000 words in length about an artist, project, exhibition, performance, event, initiative, theme, and/or phenomenon therein. The deadline for submissions is November 21st.
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Call for Submissions: 35th Annual Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work
Lunchbox Theatre invites playwrights to submit one-act plays for consideration for the 35th Annual Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work. All chosen playwrights receive a weeklong workshop including dramaturgical support, with a professional director and actors, followed by a public reading. Submissions are due by December 1st.
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Call for Film Submissions: Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts
The Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts is a community-based multi-disciplinary festival which annually shows new works by a broad range of artists, presenting bold and insightful responses to pressing issues at the intersection of art, social justice and labour. They are currently seeking film submissions of any length and genre. All selected films must provide captions for viewers who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing. Artists working in a medium other than film who wish to have their work presented at Mayworks are welcome to submit a project description. The deadline for submissions is November 22nd.
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2022 Nogojiwanong Indigenous Artist Application
Applications for the 2022 Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival (NIFF) are open through December 17th! As an Indigenous festival, NIFF recognizes and respects the Indigenous protocols of the land upon which the festival resides. NIFF also respects the protocols of all Indigenous performers and will accommodate cultural protocols and requests to all reasonable extents possible within the context of the NIFF venues and time constraints.
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2022 Research Series – Artist-In-Residence Call For Submissions
The Young Lungs Dance Exchange Research Series is a residency program designed to support the kinesthetic and choreographic inquiries of artists from all disciplines engaging in dance and/or movement-based research, by providing resources such as artists fees, studio space, and public presentation and discussion opportunities. Funds have been set aside to support a portion of accessibility-related costs. The deadline to apply is November 28th.
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Artist Boot Camp: Accessing Visual Art through Image Description with Amy Amantea
Image descriptions are an artform. They are designed to provide information and context of the visual to a blind/partially sighted person. Explore the importance of image descriptions and remove the intimidation factor in creating them with Amy Amantea, who will present a framework and lead you in putting it into practice. This workshop will help you describe your art on social media, in galleries, etc. Artists have the opportunity to impart specific meaning, intent and knowledge of their work, to add layers that make description rich and interesting for a blind audience. Presented by MAWA Mentoring Artists for Women's Art and Creative Manitoba on December 9th. ASL interpretation will be provided.
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Call to Artists: Online Exhibitions
Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba mounts monthly online exhibitions to showcase the work of Canadian artists with disabilities. Their goal is to increase awareness of the amazing artworks being created by artists with disabilities, and to decrease barriers to participation in the arts for both makers and audiences. Emerging and established artists of all disciplines are welcome to submit work for consideration. Rolling deadline.
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Art in Alternative Spaces Panel
On November 24th, join STEPS Public Art and KIAC/ODD Gallery for Art in Alternative Spaces - a free online conversation with Florence Yee, Bo Yeung, Philip Ocampo, and Ammar Mahimwalla. Often when we think of art we picture a traditional gallery space, with limited public access. But what happens when a community’s alternative spaces become the canvas for contemporary artworks? What happens when our laneways, parks, virtual platforms, and other community gathering places become the canvas’ on which art is shared? What does that mean for collective access and for the work itself? ASL translation and automated captions will be provided.
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Performance Lab #2: Stage Management for Performers with Steven Sobolewski
On November 22nd, Azimuth Theatre's Performance Lab is hosting a class for folks wanting to learn more about Stage Management (SM) and tools for actors and performers to better collaborate with SM teams! The relationship between a stage manager and performer is a crucial part in the success of any show. This class will examine and explore that relationship in an effort to give performers and a look at what happens on the other side of the table in the rehearsal room, with the goal of giving actors and performers the tools they need to cultivate that relationship. ASL interpretation and automated captions will be provided.
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Accessing the Arts Listings
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Connector is a newsletter highlighting accessible arts in Canada. In each edition, we connect artists and audiences with different organizations in regions across the country to get the word out about programming that has been curated with different bodies in mind. Our goal is to foreground Canada’s accessible arts culture by getting information out!
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