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Organizer	Tangled Art + Disability
Title	Cripping the Arts Symposium
Category	Accessibility
Location	Toronto, Ontario
Date	April 28, 2016 - April 30, 2016
Telephone	647-725-5064
E-mail	eliza@tangledarts.org
Web site	http://tangledarts.org/
Description	Tangled Art + Disability presents Cripping the Arts, a three-day symposium from April 28-30th 2016, which seeks to advance Deaf and Disability arts in Canada by addressing the question: How do Deaf, disabled, and Mad people access the arts both as audience members and creators? Cripping the Arts will bring together artists, academics, curators, arts council officers, and community members invested in Deaf and Disability Arts and culture. This symposium will be organized around two main themes�Accessible arts practices and Deaf and Disability aesthetics� and will cumulate with summary notes offered by a symposium discussant. Each day of the symposium will open with a keynote address followed by a series of roundtable discussions organized around the theme of the day. Each roundtable will be led by an expert in the field (artists, academics, curators, arts council officers, etc.) and the discussion will be open for everyone to participate in. Day One: Accessibility and the Arts will be centred on discussions of innovative best practices of accessibility in the arts in ways that are both useful and integral to the aesthetics of the artwork and exhibition spaces by addressing the following questions: � What do we need to ensure that art-making is accessible at every stage, from accessing art schools and training programs, art studios, and rehearsal studios, to adaptive technologies for art making? � What do we need to make exhibiting artwork accessible at every stage, from making sure that Deaf and Disability Arts is accessible to curators and directors, to ensuring that exhibition spaces, like galleries, theatres, and dance studios are physically accessible, to allowing exhibiting and performing artists to make a living wage by accessing artist fees and arts funding in such a way that does not compromise other sources of income, such as wages earned through the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and similar provincial disability support programs? � How can arts organizations and arts councils work together to change the policy that prohibits people who use ODSP from earning extra wages, e.g.: artist fees, selling artwork, and arts funding? � How can we make experiencing art accessible and inclusive, exploring different methods and technologies for providing tactile experiences of visual arts, to audio description of visual art, film, and live performances, to sub and sur-titles? How can we ensure that these elements are effective while, at the same time integral to, rather than distracting from, aesthetics? Day One will open with a keynote address by founder and Artistic Director of DaDaFest Ruth Gould. Day Two: Deaf and Disability Aesthetics will centre on discussions around emerging Deaf and Disability aesthetics in Ontario by addressing the following questions: � How can we record and honour the development of Deaf, Disability, and Mad Arts across Canada? For example, what would a textbook or anthology chronicling Deaf, Disability, and Mad Arts in Canada include? � What are Deaf, Disability, and Mad Arts aesthetics? How are these aesthetics developing regionally and according to discipline across Canada? � How do Deaf, Disability, and Mad arts contribute to and change understandings aesthetics? � How do we curate Deaf, Disability, and Mad aesthetics? � How do Deaf, Disability, and Mad Arts and aesthetics contribute to disability rights and justice movements? � What is the difference between Deaf, Disability, and Mad Arts and art made by Deaf disabled and Mad people? � What policies, accommodations, and structural support need to be in place to allow Deaf, disabled, and Mad people to make art and contribute to these emerging aesthetics? The keynote speaker for Day Two will be announced. Day Three: Community Brainstorm will be a half-day gathering of all conference participants to discuss the necessities to be included in a Cripping the Arts Accessibility Toolkit, a resource guide providing guidelines for how to make galleries and other arts spaces (theatres, dance studios, etc.) accessible in a way that is integral to the aesthetics of the artwork and the exhibition space. A symposium discussant will open Day Three with their notes, thoughts, and questions on the symposium�s discussions and keynote addresses. This symposium will coincide with a major exhibition of new work by Persimmon Blackbridge, Constructed Identities, presented by Tangled Arts. How to apply: Tangled is currently accepting submissions for symposium participants and roundtable discussion leaders. To apply to lead a roundtable discussion: If you would like to lead a roundtable discussion on one of the topics or questions identified above, please send a brief statement telling us who you are, the topic of the roundtable you would like to lead, and some questions that you would pose to get the conversation going. To apply to participate in the symposium: If you would like to attend the symposium as a participant, please send a brief statement describing who you are and what you hope to get out of the symposium. Deadline for applications: September 15, 2015. Results will be sent out by October 31, 2015. Please submit applications by email to: eliza@tangledarts.org. For questions about the symposium and/or the application process, please contact Eliza at eliza@tangledarts.org or 647-725-5064. Symposium Details: When: April 28-30, 2016 Where: Ryerson University, Downtown Toronto (exact location: TBA) Cost: Free for Deaf, Mad, and disabled people, attendants/PSWs, under- waged/non-waged people. $100.00 for everyone else. Accessibility: The symposium will take place in a barrier-free location near barrier-free transit. ASL interpretation and attendant care provided. We request that you assist us in making this a scent-free space. For accessibility needs and other accessibility accommodations, contact Eliza by March 15, 2016 (eliza@tangledarts.org, 647-725-5064). Tangled gratefully acknowledges the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and The School of Disability Studies at Ryerson University as the main sponsors of this symposium.

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