Show Gallery

Toronto  ON

(One block East of Ossington, North side)

 Meet the Artist Reception 

May 18th, 2013, 7:00 PM

Homeless Man
Photo by Allan Cullen

]]> http://abilitiesartsfestival.org/allan-cullen-photography-exhibit/feed/ 0 http://abilitiesartsfestival.org/canada-council-inter-arts-consultation/ http://abilitiesartsfestival.org/canada-council-inter-arts-consultation/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 20:00:42 +0000 Katie http://abilitiesartsfestival.org/?p=2211 Read More...

When I Walk

A Film by Jason DaSilva

at 

3 screenings only!

Friday, April 26th, 2013 @ 9:30pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
Saturday, April 27th, 2013 @ 2:00pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
Saturday, May 4th, 2013 @ 1:30pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox 1

“This was the best doc at Sundance 2013.”
-Hollywood Chicago

★★★★½
“When I Walk presents a meditation on a life well lived. It doesn’t attempt a simplistic answer. Instead, it gazes at life’s injustices, its mysteries, its quirks of fate– but also at the beauty of fleeting moments, the relationships we forge, and the legacy we leave behind.”
-Film Threat

About the Film:

When Jason DaSilva was diagnosed with a severe form of multiple sclerosis at 25, his legs were literally taken from beneath him, forcing him to confront some harsh realities about his future. He was a filmmaker who travelled the world and now had to face that he couldn’t brush his teeth without help. He wonders if he can find love with someone who can see past his physical challenges. Turning the camera on himself, he documents a seven-year struggle with a disease that has no cure and a world filled with increasing obstacles. The result is a very personal, ambitious and genuine view of a life that takes nothing for granted. Not only are Da Silva’s daily challenges recorded, he self-reflexively shows his physical struggle with trying to construct this documentary. Nothing is kept hidden, which makes the victories and miracles we witness all the more inspiring.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Interview with Jason DaSilva:

Last week, AAF’s Katie McMillan had a chance to speak with filmmaker Jason DaSilva about his film, his process, and disability rights. Their conversation is included below.

Katie: First off, I just want to say how much I enjoyed your film. I found it really unlike any documentary I’ve seen before. Can you talk a bit about how you decided to make it?

Jason: Yeah, I started making the film in 2006, about a year after I was diagnosed. I’m a documentarian but more than anything I’m an artist. I went to art school and this project is more based in theory from an art perspective, than wanting to make a documentary. I just happened to get into documentary. In a way it was sort of influenced by artists like Marina Abramovic and another artist Vito Acconci, Miranda July does this a lot, pushing the limits and boundaries of art in terms of the physical body. Basically when we started the film, I thought wouldn’t it be interesting – if I am going to decline in health – to film myself during the process? So that’s how it started and all the circumstances that happened within it created the story. But my original intention was to create kind of a performance art piece.

Katie: How did the filmmaking process change as your MS progressed?

Jason: It became more pointed I think. When I went from able-bodied to disabled, things in the last few years became more significant, and more life changing. When you lose the ability to do certain things and transform from able-bodied to disabled, things become more pointed; circumstances have an added desperation but also more significance.

Katie: I really enjoyed the self-reflection in the film that you don’t often get from a documentary. And towards the end of the film you address concerns about not being able to finish it. How did you overcome those obstacles to get it done?

Jason: That’s a good question. You know, to this day I’m even surprised that I got it done because it feels like I’m still in the moment of just getting the film out there. So in a way I feel like the film is done, but it’s not done, because the next step is getting the word out there about the film. And I didn’t realize it’s such a unique thing: people with disabilities getting their stories on screen is something that isn’t typically done – which is so weird. It should concern the mainstream because everyone goes through the process of living and dying but in a way it’s still swept under the rug. People are more concerned with telling stories about things of a trivial nature, in comparison. So I don’t really feel like the film is done. Because now I’m realizing that the real challenge is getting the film out there more than anything. I mean it’s great that the film got made; it’s great that this one story got told but this is the next major hurdle. And it bugs me because I wish that there were more venues, or that there was more openness to telling stories that are this universal.

“It’s also treading new ground, for myself, but also for the industry at large. I think that films about people with disabilities have rarely been done by people with disabilities.”

Katie: Have you found that the reception of the film, or the process of getting it out there, has been different than with the films you have worked on in the past?

Jason: Yes, for sure. For sure it’s been different. I’ve worked on films about different social issues but not really anything related to – well first of all, it wasn’t a self-portrait, so it’s more challenging that way, in terms of the storytelling process. Also, I worked on social issues before in my documentaries. A lot of them were about racial issues and things like that. So it’s just something different than people expected that I would work on. But it’s weird, you know, the powers that be, the funders and people in distribution, don’t really find it palatable and many people in the film industry don’t even realize that the disability rights movement exists, that these stories need to be told. So that is still frustrating to me.

Katie: Yeah, and following up on that, do you feel like your relationship to the film industry has changed?

Jason: Yeah, for sure. Because I feel like now I’m the guy who’s sitting on the edge of it. I do have a lot of really great supporters but at the same time I don’t feel like I’m embraced to be part of the mainstream film industry as much as I should, which drives me insane because I definitely put my work out there.

Katie: As a filmmaker making a self-portrait, how difficult was it to tell your own story as opposed to someone else’s story?

Jason: It was super difficult. To this day, I don’t like watching the film and I’m glad I got it done. And while my original intent was to make a self-portrait art piece more than anything, it’s still super frustrating to put myself out there and be seen by so many people… was that the question? (Laughs).

Katie: Yes, exactly. And how was the experience different than your other documentary projects?

Jason: It’s a feature film. So it’s a lot longer than my other films, but it’s also a self-portrait so it’s more intimate and more difficult. It’s also treading new ground, for myself, but also for the industry at large. I think that films about people with disabilities have rarely been done by people with disabilities. And when they have, I don’t think it strikes the right chord or something. People don’t want to see it. There was a lot of stigma attached to it. Generally what I’m finding is that distributors find it very difficult to tell a story like this. And I wish it would change but I didn’t realize how difficult it is. People don’t want to embrace a film that’s a self-portrait about- even a story like this where it’s about triumph over tragedy – the mere fact that it’s about disease or that it’s about mortality… a non-fiction film about mortality is so difficult for distributors to really get behind. I’m thinking of making my next film about penguins… or babies…

Katie: Within the film, there are some really personal challenges expressed – some by yourself, some by your wife Alice, and your mother – how did you friends and family feel about being on camera?

Jason: I think they just kind of put up with it. I don’t think they expected that the film would go anywhere. They just kind of did it out of love and respect for me. But I don’t think they had any problems with being on camera. If anything, it was a way for them to talk about what’s on their minds. And to be ‘actors’ and everybody loves being on camera.

Interpretation by Jason DaSilva

“I just can’t write or draw anymore so in some ways making the film and showing the work was an homage to the fact that I created all this work.”

Katie: You mentioned that you went to art school and what I was wondering when I was watching the film and looking at all the creative visuals – the animation, photography, art work – is that all your work or were you working with other artists as well?

Jason: That’s my work. Except for the animation. The animation was done by a friend of mine in a company out of Montreal. But I went to school in B.C. at Emily Carr so that was all my work from when I was in art school. I’m a documentarian, but I’m an artist through-and-through so I speak that language. I just can’t write or draw anymore so in some ways making the film and showing the work was an homage to the fact that I created all this work.

Katie: What’s your relationship to the disability community and disability activism?

Jason: You know, I’m not as involved as I would like to be, just because I’ve been stuck in my bubble, working on my film. But I’m slowly putting myself out there more and more. I’m working with a group here in New York called Reelabilities Film Festival. Now that my work is done and now that I’ve been in the world of able-bodied to disabled, I’m putting myself out there more.

Katie: And going through that transition from able-bodied to disabled, when did you first come across the disability rights movement and see that as something that was going on at a grassroots level?

Jason: I think in 2006 when I first started the film. That was some of my background. I looked into it just to see where things were at. But it’s still really grim. I was just on a panel with somebody who was saying the disability movement is within its battles in the courtroom. And I think that’s so false. I really believe that it needs to come from the people because right now, things are falling apart. It’s lagged behind other movements like the black civil rights movement, they gay and lesbian movement- they’ve all gained traction. And the disability movement is so slow. It started in the 60s and 70s behind all these other movements and it just kind of fell apart because of it being – in New York especially – moved into the realm of litigation, something that’s battled in the courtroom. And I don’t think it should be that way at all.

One of the things that I talk about in the film is this idea of bringing accessibility back to people with that project that I did called axsmap.com. So that’s an example of something I’m trying to do to keep it grassroots and keep it on a human level. It just feels like it’s kind of a grim time right now. So I’m just hoping that we can bring it back.

Jason DaSilva will be attending all three screenings of When I Walk at Hot Docs. Bring your questions for the filmmaker to the screening!

The Innoversity Creative Summit this year is providing three opportunities for people with disabilities who are seriously interested in exploring participation in the media and to do the work of storytelling in the next generations. There are a number of scholarships and supporting activities for people with disabilities to participate in, and opportunity to learn about creating truly representative pictures and stories about the real lives lived by people with disabilities. These include the following:

(1) “Pitch Competition” sessions and the award of over $100k funding to producers and storytellers. (Has an April 25 deadline for submissions) [see attached description in Innoversity Summit Pitch Competition 2013 PDF and text]

(2) Mentorships for one week during the summer, alongside an experienced producer to see what goes on behind and in front of the camera to get a better sense of what media work and accurate portrayal consists.

(3) Conference observer status – 8-10 fully-paid scholarships to attend Innoversity Creative Summit 2013 presentations. Have a look at this link for some sense of what will be going on:

Have a look at  http://www.innoversitysummit.com/

One highly relevant session will be how to fund a revival video series, The New Disability Network on-line.

In terms of observer status or mentorships working alongside a professional producer, please send a short paragraph explaining your interest in the media and what you might like to do as a media professional. Send your submission by May 15 to fmp@netrover.com.

Please read on….

The Innoversity Creative Summit is an annual two-day event. It is associated with Innoversity, an organization that has been active in bringing together members of diverse communities and has worked to create opportunities for cultural minorities, Aboriginal and disabled Canadians to actively engage in, and be accurately reflected in/on mainstream media.

Innoversity has focussed on key societal sectors and institutions and in particular the mass media.  Innoversity Creative Summit over more than a decade has involved showcasing best practices of inclusion, enabling insight and providing access points between different groups of people, which inspires and sustains accessible, meaningful, social inclusion by bringing together key leaders and decision-makers and providing useful information and experiences.

That is to say, I am looking for people with disabilities who have a serious interest in bringing accurate information about the lives lived by people with disabilities to the Canadian publics. And of course I am thinking cross-disability, and “nothing about us without us.”

As you may remember, The Disability Network at CBC-TV sought to bring information about the lives and stories of people with disabilities in the 1990s and to correct stereotypes and present accurate portrayal of people with disabilities. An effort to revive DNET as The New Disability Network is currently underway.

Twenty-five years ago in 1988

“the Standing Committee on the Status of Disabled Persons studied issues related to the depiction of persons with disabilities by the media, as well as access to information and to means of communication. The committee concluded that the situation, at best, was uneven and, at worst, discriminatory.” (No news is bad news)

Today, we still struggle with many of the stereotypes and barriers in existence back then, although many stalwart have worked hard to focus on bringing forward accurate portrayal and participation of people with disabilities in various social places.

These days we need new people with disabilities to train and tell the living stories of people with disabilities and to join the forces seeking our full emancipation.

If you are interested to pursue exploration of the media as a place for your personal work and social contribution please write to me at fmp@netrover.com

Mad Pride Toronto 2013 Presents:

Altered States: Movies by Mad People

Share your mad, consumer, ex-psych, survivor, crazy, and “illness-ified” visions with us!

We are planning a day of screenings at Mad Pride Toronto 2013, July 8-14, of works made and curated by mad people. There’s no theme: works need not exemplify anything other than your own creativity, but we do seek works created by people with experience of the mental health system.

Please submit your work, by June 1st, 2013, on a DVD in .mp4 format if possible to:

Friends and Advocates
2340 Dundas W, Toronto, ON
M6P 4A9

Please contact events@madprideto.com if submitting an unfinished piece. For further info, visit www.madprideto.com.

Click here to watch Sarah Gordy’s Ted Talk: Escape from labels. Be free, be different.

Since 2004 the Laser Eagles Art Guild has been providing support and opportunities to artists with limited speech and/mobility to produce and exhibit their artwork.

As a community based arts guild we depend on the generous contributions of our supporters. We have assembled a great team and now operate 3 weekly sessions across the Greater Toronto Area. Virtually all funds raised by the Laser Eagles Art Guild go directly towards programming needs. We are proud of having done so much with such a limited budget.

We have made big strides over the past year maintaining and developing new strategic alliances and community partnerships with The West Toronto Diabetes Education Centre, the Northern District Public Library, The 519, Anne Johnson, CDI College, HEAT, Evanov Radio, Katika, the Art Gallery of Ontario and have developed new relationships with many organizations such as Safehaven, the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU), YWCA, the Abilities Arts Festival, Creative Spirit and George Brown College.

We are delighted to have been chosen as a community partner for a new and innovative program at OCADU, supporting 4^th year students in obtaining hands on community arts experience during this upcoming summer.  We are ready to launch a new innovative online storefront in the next few weeks. This storefront will enable us to sell our art in many formats and will contribute to the sustainability and growth of the Laser Eagles. Through this storefront Laser Eagles Art Guild and Communities Advancing Valued Environments artists, volunteers, art coordinators and supporting community artists alike will be able to promote and sell their work while making key connections within the community. With a current exhibition at Sherway Gardens, across from the Lululemon store, an upcoming exhibition this fall at The 519 and a permanent exhibition to be displayed at the YWCA we don’t want to stop now!

Today, we are urgently appealing to you for financial help to assist at this crucial time and keep the Laser Eagles Art Guild running!

Please donate generously and champion for us by passing on this message to your respective networks. Donations can be made online at http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s89809
 
Thank you for support,

The Laser Eagles Art Guild

www.madprideto.com

Mad Pride is an arts, culture, and heritage festival created by psychiatric survivors, consumers, mad people, folks the world has labeled “mentally ill”, and those in solidarity with us.

Mad Pride is about:

• remembering and participating in mad history

• challenging discrimination

• advocating for rights

• affirming mad identities

• developing and empowering mad communities

• having fun!

Our lives and contributions are valuable and need celebration!

Do you want to host a consumer/survivor-driven event, performance, talk, presentation, film, or panel discussion at Mad Pride Toronto 2013? Please let us know via our event submission form – which will be available on our website at www.madprideto.com or by calling Tina at 416 926-9762 x 245. Contact: events@madprideto.com

Do you want to submit to our second juried Art Exhibition ? We invite two dimensional, sculptural, or time-based art submissions  from psychiatric survivors, consumers, and mad people. Contact: Martine at martinematthews@soundtimes.com

If you  are a consumer/survivor and would like to display/sell your art, crafts, buttons, t-shirts, knitting, zines, books, music, baked goods or promote your blog, website, group, network, idea, consider requesting a table at the Mad Market. Contact: outreach@madprideto.com

Deadline: Friday, April 26th, 2013

Do you want to get involved in making Mad Pride Toronto 2013 happen? Check out www.madprideto.com for more information on joining the Mad Pride Toronto 2013 Organizing Committee and to complete a Statement of Interest.

Our heartfelt condolences to Ray’s family and friends, and especially to his wife Michelle Amerie, a longtime board member of Abilities Arts Festival.

We wanted to share Ray’s wonderful contribution to Al Etmanski’s Becoming Visible series.

Ray Cohen – Becoming Visible 2011

More Voices of People With Disabilities for the General Good

Ray Cohen has been unlocking the resources of institutions and government agencies to benefit groups often overlooked by big systems since the 1970′s.  This includes progressive work in supporting children in care, alcohol and drug treatment and youth employment.  Since 1986 he has provided a forum, through Abilities magazine for the voices and deeds of citizens with disabilities, their families and supporters.  Backed by the Canadian Abilities Foundation which he founded and still leads, the narrative or storyline has shifted from people with disabilities as objects of pity and charity to agents of contribution.

More Voices of People with Disabilities for the General Good

I would like to think 2011 to be a year of unprecedented positive change for people with disabilities in Canada – and that each of us makes a significant contribution to that very worthwhile end! Here is a little bit of a context. 
  
Since 1986, when I started the Canadian Abilities Foundation, I have been increasingly struck by the amount of passivity existing in our population around important issues. People with disabilities have been referred to, at least within the North American context, as the last front in the struggle for human rights. Whether we are talking about physical access, education, employment or transferability of services across our country, people with disabilities must still ride on the back of the bus – if they are even allowed to get on the bus at all. 
  
It is true that there have been great strides. It is worth noting that barely a generation ago, people with disabilities were warehoused, condemned to live apart and rarely seen in public. The closing down of institutions, increased accessibility, and emerging legislation have changed that considerably. But there are many hurdles yet to overcome before we can say that we live in a truly inclusive world. One would think that people with disabilities themselves would lead the charge towards positive change and equity – but after having seen the same faces age along with my own for nearly a quarter of a century, I am very much afraid that we are missing the boat. Most people with disabilities need to become more engaged. We are 4.4 million strong in this country – and we can effect positive change. 
  
There are many opportunities. Organizations such as the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Disabled Womenʼs Network (DAWN), Inclusion Press, Independent Living Canada, and PLAN are just a few of those more than willing to share knowledge and, very often, opportunities for involvement. 
  
The Canadian Abilities Foundation, through our newsletter, website and magazine, frequently offers opportunities to get involved in matters important to all of us – it is, after all, worth remembering that a rising tide raises all boats. 
  
So, my hope for 2011 is that we see a turning point where people with disabilities take advantage of opportunities as never before in making their voices heard for the general good. Do not let the committed few carry the ball for you. To smack a tired platitude squarely across the bottom: it does, in fact, take a village to raise a child.