Online symposium will bring together disability-identified artists from across Atlantic Canada
A three-day online conference, set to take place this weekend, will bring together disability-identified artists from across Atlantic Canada.
The Disability Atlantic Arts Symposium, the first of its kind in the region, will provide accessible and equitable professional development opportunities to artists with disabilities.
"There's so many artists in our region who feel isolated and don't feel like they have a sense of community and COVID-19 has only amplified that," said Natasha MacLellan, artistic director at Theatre New Brunswick. "But you can't blame a lot of these artists who look around at companies, concerts, festival lineups, art galleries, and if they don't see themselves represented in programming galleries, all the different arts of course, they're feeling isolated."
The idea for the symposium came from the JRG Society for the Arts, which was formed in 2018 in memory of Justin Robert Grant – a filmmaker who passed away from ALS.
"When we were discussing at a board meeting what else JRG Society of the Arts could do to assist artists with disabilities, Natasha suggested something like the symposium and so, that's how it became the foundation of how this started," said Rachel Bower with the JRG Society for the Arts.
Ysabelle Vautour, a founding board member and visually impaired artist, says it was important to her that people with disabilities lead the symposium.
"It's a different culture, right. When people talk about accessibility in general, they're like, 'Oh, it's something we add on after.' It's like, no. When its disability led, it's included within the event, things are integrated," said Vautour.
The event is also a unique opportunity for artists to network.
"I don't know a lot of disabled artists in the community here so, all these people I've been meeting this year have been wonderful. It's kind of like a special kinship," said Vautour.
The symposium will include American Sign Language interpretation, closed captioning, transcripts and a mix of visual descriptions and integrated audio descriptions.
"It's hard to articulate it," said MacLellan. "Just the amount of time and care it takes to be accessible, all our videos had to be transcribed so we could get the test to the ASL interpreters. We needed audio visual descriptions."
Tickets for the symposium, which takes place from Oct. 22 to Oct. 24, are available online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.