Creative spaces are designed to be functional for the communities they serve. A poorly designed space can limit the diversity of people it welcomes and could ultimately fail to effectively serve its intended audience. What are some of the strategies creative professionals use to activate and strengthen pathways to accessibility? How can we ensure that creative programming reaches its full potential while being mindful of its inherent barriers?
Access as a Creative Catalyst explores how accessibility in public spaces can spark creativity and inclusion. Exploring methods for access and equity, panelists Michel Dumont, Adriana Alarcón, Yvette Cenerini, and Sean Lee speak to their experiences in creative spaces, navigating traditional and virtual platforms for safe community engagement and creative expression.
Presented by STEPS Public Art and Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba, this workshop is offered as part of the 2021 CreateSpace BIPOC Public Art Residency.
July 8, 2021
Time: 4:30-6pm EDT
Hosted via Zoom and broadcasted on Facebook Live via @STEPSPublicArt.
Closed captioning and ASL interpretation will be available throughout this event.
Relive the discussion!
Michel Dumont is a Métis, Two-Spirit artist descended from the Robinson-Superior Treaty Area who enjoys breathing new life into discarded vintage tile by making mosaic pieces. Working with shattered tile mirrors his daily life of dealing with a shattered back, which drives him to make something beautiful out of it. Making outfits for local and national drag communities allows him to work around his multiple chemical sensitivities using non-toxic materials. He is a self-taught artist, and occasional teacher, whose mediums include fibre arts, ceramics and unconventional materials for wearable art. He creates art daily to deal with the effects of decades of PTSD. As a son of an Indian day school survivor, he tries to honour his culture in his work.
In her most recent role with MAWA, Adriana will be coordinating the Foundation Mentorship Program, the Cross-Cultural Craft Programs, and all of the other MAWA programs you know and love. Originally from Guatemala, she has been working in Toronto for A Space Gallery and CARFAC Ontario, and coordinating a highly successful banner project for Toronto Pride. As well as being an arts administrator and avid craft activist, she maintains a freelance graphic design practice. She is happy to be back in Winnipeg to be close to her family.
Yvette Cenerini (née Lagimodière) is a Franco-Métis visual artist from Manitoba who lives and works in Winnipeg. Behaviour and relationships are recurring themes throughout her work in media arts and printmaking. Having obtained both a BEd (2001) and a BFA (2010), knowledge-sharing in the forms of teaching, mentoring, cultural mediation and community engagement is an important facet of her practice.
“Using the animal as subject, I work in various mediums to represent themes of emotional being and relations with a simple aesthetic and a snip-it of sarcasm.”
Sean Lee is a part of a new generation of artists, curators and arts leaders bringing fresh perspectives to the contemporary art field. An artist working in performance art and performance for the camera, his creative practice has evolved to fit the realities of navigating performance using the body as a medium, and the inevitable conclusions drawn surrounding his identity as a queer, Asian and disabled artist.
Header image: The Fyres of Pride by Michel Dumont
The CreateSpace Residency is made possible by support from:
