In December 2018, Dr. Leslie G Roman, Professor in EDST, and her team at Wingspan received a third UBC Grant for Catalyzing Research Clusters. This award allows Wingspan to fund a pilot program establishing artists with disabilities in a residency program with partner K-12 public schoolsin the Vancouver School Board and Delta School District. The project includes creating documentary films about the artists, capturing their impact in public performance contexts and turning the films into public pedagogy at international festival.
Artists with disabilities or Deafness will work for 8 weeks with students and teachers in seven schools in two school districts (Vancouver and Delta) in classrooms ranging from kindergarten to grade 12. During their 8 week residency, the selected artists will participate in many different areas within the school. These include school-wide assemblies, co-teaching and performing and creating in their artistic craft, and providing the schools new lenses through which to see art made by artists with disabilities in their own unique voices and stories. The six artists represent different artistic media from visual arts to acting, from story-tellers to play rights and photographers. Some are highly internationally established, having appeared on ABC, CNN, and the White House or having performed on major TV broadcast. Still others are incredibly talented emerging artists in who defy expectations for example, being blind and doing accessible visual arts such as photography, painting and sculpting. Wingspan has the national stage in its purview with the full support of the Honorable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services, Procurement and Accessibility. Carla Qualtrough has led the call for federal accessibility legislation which is now tabled! She has opened Wingspan at the Grand Opening and her video appears on the wingspan website. To follow the latest buzz and developments about how UBC’s VPRI Established Cluster—Wingspan Dis/Ability Arts, Culture & Public Culture significantly impacts our schools and communities, please see the Wingspan url: wingspan.educ.ubc.ca Our Faculty is a proud partner of Wingspan.
Learn more about the artists below:
- Cathy Browne Bio
- David Roche Bio
- James Sanders Bio
- Kelsie Grazier Bio
- Richard Harlow Bio
- Sarah Jickling Bio
