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"On Working with Artists in the Disabilities Community" -- a powerful article

alesnick's picture

http://www.pcah.us/posts/320_sometimes_we_need_to_get_uncomfortable_on_working_with_artists_in_the_disabilities_community

Prof. Lindgren posted this in the class she is teaching this term at HC in partnership as well with CCW:

"Successfully addressing these issues depends on our willingness to let our process be complicated. As practitioners, we avoid complications because they slow things down and often feel a lot like barriers. Our work on A Fierce Kind of Love has taught us a few things: we need to help our ‘typical’ audience members feel comfortable with the idea of looking and listening differently; we need to make all of our performances as accessible as possible in terms of both physical access and content delivery; and we need to do all of these things with input (even direction) from people with intellectual disabilities and families. This can be the most challenging aspect for our work; sometimes people tell us what they need, and it’s hard to provide. But if we’re successful—if we’re truly inclusive—we can bring people together who would never have met in the community, and that enlarges and enriches the conversation."