"I cannot be in the world until I see that I am in the world."
I recently watched the new Netflix documentary Disclosure, and that line spoken by Yance Ford, a Black trans film media producer and director, has been echoing in my head all week.
Rarely, when watching a film, do I pause and rewind so that I can re-hear what I just heard - not because I’m hard of hearing but because I want the words to fossilize in my brain. I cannot be in the world until I see that I am in the world. I cannot be in the world until I see that I am in the world.
Films are a powerful medium for colouring our world and our place in it.
The first time I recognized myself on screen was in 1990 when I saw Mask. I was 11 years old and I remember being transfixed by Rocky, a shy teenage boy with long red curls, cut off denim shirts, a badass biker mom (played by none other than Cher herself), and a noticeable facial difference - who, unbeknownst to me, was played by Eric Stolz in prosthetic makeup.
In truth, I'm nothing like Rocky (well maybe a little) and the film is annoyingly outdated but in 1990, it was like seeing a sharp glimmer shining from a lighthouse in the distance - a signal that somebody else was out there.
Watching Disclosure took me back there and reminded me that I’m hungry for more stories. Stories where the Rockys are more complex and played by people with real facial differences. Stories where trans people fall in love and live happily ever after (in other words they don’t die). Stories where difference in its myriad forms, whether it be race, gender, sex, age, size or disability, is embodied and not cloaked in makeup, or fat suits or cliches. Stories where we can be in the world because we see ourselves there.
I’d love to hear from you: what film or story did you first recognize yourself?
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this email, you’d be helping us if you forward it to someone who you think might like it or share it with your friends online.
Please stay safe and warm this weekend,
Lindsay
PS. If you haven't filled out our dreamy survey from last week, it's not too late!
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Creative Users Projects News
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We have 87 Network Connector members!
If you haven't signed up, we still want to know how Network Connector can best serve you! There's time to fill out our survey, we'd be grateful for 5-10 minutes of your time. FYI: You do not need to be a member of Network Connector to participate!
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Highlights from the Community
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Featured event: Intrepid Theatre Winter Series
Through March 9th
Intrepid Theatre presents their Winter Series, a collection of digital shows, artist talks and online workshops with a mashup of programming from their annual curated festivals, OUTstages & UNO Fest. The Darlings Uncensored and artist talks with The Darlings and playwright Janet Munsil will have ASL interpretation and captions. Artist workshops (Drag Makeup with Rose Butch and Arts Worker Income Tax) will be live captioned. OUTstages After Dark, their cabaret livestream series, runs tonight through February 27th and features short performances by local queer artists. The cabaret series will be auto-captioned on Facebook, with updated captions added after the performances for later viewing.
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Case Study: El Alto
On February 22nd, join Critical Distance for Case Study: El Alto, part of their Public Displays of Affection (PDA) series on creative possibilities in accessible arts publishing. This conversation with Maria del Carmen Camarena, Eliza Chandler, Saada El-Akhrass, Vanessa Dion Fletcher, Sean Lee, and Beatriz Miranda will be moderated by Aidan Moesby. El Alto is a print and digital magazine produced by the British Council that showcases arts and culture in the Americas; the upcoming issue is centered around d/Deaf and disability arts and accessible practices in different countries of the region. This event will have ASL interpretation and captioning. Images will be described and presenters will describe themselves.
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Open Call for Performers - SOUND OFF: A Deaf Theatre Festival
SOUND OFF: A Deaf Theatre Festival and Deaf Spectrum have announced an open call for performers for their closing night event! The SOUND OFF Festival will close with Deaf Party, an online celebration featuring skits, games and interactive entertainment. They're looking for Deaf talent to contribute short performances of any discipline (skits, dance, signed music, ASL poetry, or physical comedy). Those selected will receive an honorarium for participation. The deadline to apply is February 23rd.
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Call for Applications: Femme Film School
The reachAbility Femme Film School is a project that will focus on providing the introductory tools, training, experience, and opportunities necessary for women, 2SLGBTQIA+, and femme identifying individuals to share their stories and amplify underrepresented voices in their community. Applications are open now!
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Call for Applications: Associate Manager, Studio
The National AccessArts Centre is hiring! The Associate Manager, Studio position will facilitate, mentor, and instruct a diverse body of participating artists, helping them to achieve their goals in all elements of the artistic process. There is no deadline to apply - the position is open until filled.
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Opulent Mobility Artist Talks
If you missed them live, you can now catch a series of artist talks which were part of Opulent Mobility 2020, a group exhibition of artwork about disability, accessibility and mobility which re-imagines disability as opulent and powerful. Check out the talks, which are still being added, on A. Laura Brody's YouTube channel, including conversations with artists Molshree Jain, Corina Duyn, Anthony Tusler, Dianna Temple, Ellice Patterson, Abigail Stockinger and Sandy Huse. Videos have captions and audio description.
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Aroba: A Room Of Black Artists
On March 1st, AROBA: A Room Of Black Artists, in association with Workman Arts, is hosting a Black Mental Health Symposium and Action Event. Black Artists play an essential role as leaders in building communities and producing hallmarks of cultural expressions, and yet continue to face a plethora of blatant to insidious forms of anti-Black racism and mental health discrimination. This is the first of an annual symposium that promotes Black mental wellness in the arts community. ASL interpretation is available by request.
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Mx
Through February 24th, The Cultch presents Mx, a boundary-pushing, bouffon-inspired work that explores what it means to be mixed-race and Black in the world today. Using bold risks, sharp comedy, and African mythology, Mx cracks open struggles of identity and belonging through the lens of a character stuck in the in-between. The performance on February 24th is pre-recorded with ASL and captions.
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the prelude - Ryan Knighton
Tomorrow, Theatre Passe Muraille welcomes author Ryan Knighton in conversation with accessibility consultant Darren Cooper. Ryan will be talking about his journey as a writer, what it's like to write about your own life, and why you should never forcibly grab a Blind person by the elbow during a global pandemic. This event is primarily auditory to improve access for Blind and low vision patrons. There will be ASL interpretation provided by Denica C. Brown and Zoom auto captioning available.
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Neurodivergent Hangouts - Online Games & Chat
Autistics United Canada hosts neurodivergent hangouts on the last Sunday of every month. On February 28th, join in for online games and conversation over Zoom. These hangouts are open to all neurodivergent people, including Autistic people, ADHDers, people with developmental and intellectual disabilities and people with mental health challenges.
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Call for Indigenous Artists: Artistic Mural and Beautification Project
In this unprecedented time, the Okanagan Indigenous Music and Arts Society has launched a celebration of artistic resilience that will be shared amongst the entire community. Submissions are now open for the Honouring Our Stories Artistic Mural and Beautification Project. Canadian Indigenous mural artists are invited to apply by February 28th.
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Crossed Wires on Demand
At the end of January, Edmonton Fringe Theatre and Amoris Projects hosted Crossed Wires, a night of conversation with theatre artists across Canada, hosted by Gordie Lucius and Emma Houghton. You can catch the full panel discussion with Lisa Karen Cox, Sébastien Heins, Brooke Leifso, Jenna Rodgers, Chris Reed, Maya Ritchey and Adrienne Wong. With ASL interpreation.
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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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