Invisible Disabilities and Creative Spaces May 14, 2019 Webinar 6 of 6

1. Invisible Disabilities and Creative SpacesMay 14, 2019Webinar 6 of 6

2. Before we begin… Closed captioning is provided throughout the webinar. You can hear us but we can’t hear you! Please use the chat box for questions. A link to recording, transcript and evaluation will be provided following the webinar. We will be using the chat box for the Q & A period. You can also email questions to erin@artsbuildontario.ca.

3. Agenda • Recap on what we covered in the last webinar: “Safety, Fire codes, and Accessibility for Creative Spaces” • Presentation: “Invisible Disabilities and Creative Spaces” • Question and Answer Period

4. Recap of AODA & Design of Public Spaces What is a disability? People with disabilities are the minority of EVERYONE • Everyone either currently has a disability, knows someone with a disability or will have a disability as they age

5. Understanding AODA Law • AODA = Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act • Goal = Make Ontario accessible • Based on = Equality, Dignity and Respect • 5 areas of requirements: • Integrated Accessibility Standard • Customer Service • Information and Communication • Employment • Transportation • Design of Public Spaces

6. AODA - Design of Public Spaces Most buildings: • Exterior Paths of Travel • Outdoor Public Use Eating Areas • Outdoor Play Spaces • Accessible Parking • Type A (van size) • Type B (car size) • Obtaining Services • Service counters • Fixed queuing guides • Waiting areas (Minimum 3%)

7. Ontario Building Code (OBC) • Limited accessibility requirements • Can build a building that fully complies with the OBC but will it be fully inclusive? • Mostly focuses on individuals who use wheelchairs • Doesn’t solve for full range of abilities people have

8. Hierarchy of Laws

9. Resources • AODA Customer Service • AODA Information and Communication • AODA Employment • AODA Design of Public SpacesIllustrated Technical Guide to the Design of Public Spaces

10. Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility ontario.ca/accessibility Toll-Free: 1-866-515-2025 TTY: 416-325-3408 / 1-800-268-7095 @ONAccessibility facebook.com/ONAccessibility YouTube.com/ONGov accessibility@ontario.ca

11. Fire Safety Plans and Compliance

12. Accessible Design and Emergency Planning: Addressing the needs of Persons with Disabilities and Older Persons in Creative Spaces Marnie Peters President

13. Presenters Andrew Gurza, Disability Awareness Consultant

14. Invisible Disabilities and Creative SpacesAlex Bulmer

15. Introduction Alex Bulmer, Professional Artist Working in Canada and the UK

16. Accessibility to the Arts for those who Identify as People with Invisible Disabilities

17. What is Typically Meant by Invisible Disability?

18. Who Is Typically Considered a Person with an Invisible Disability?

19. What is a Key Threat of Inclusion?

20. Key Solution - Proactive Communication

21. Pro-Active Communication is not a One-way Street

22. Pro Active Provisions

23. Specific Accessibility Strategies through the Case Study of Crip Shorts

24. Conclusion

25. Invisible Disabilities and Creative Spaces: How Do We Incorporate Invisible Disabilities in These Spaces?Andrew Gurza

26. Andrew’s Background • I do not come into the arts with a predominantly lived experience of invisible disability. • I have a physical disability and use a wheelchair, so the way that I am read in society is immediately understood by my mobility device; because of my wheelchair, I have a template for how I am to be treated. • But, because my disability is predominantly defined by my wheelchair, people don’t know that I also live with anxiety and depression. • I have trouble talking about that with people and disclosing that I also have mental health issues.

27. Boys in Chairs: Incorporating Mental Health Check-ins into Our Day • From 2015 onwards I have been helping to produce a piece of theatre called Boys in Chairs focusing on the lives and sexualities of three queer men with disabilities. • During our workshopping of this production, each of us were asked to talk about our personal lives and share our stories in a very personal and naked way. • This caused huge rifts in our production and made it harder for us to engage in the work. • Because of our invisible disabilities, and because we didn’t talk about them at all initially, we almost stopped production on the whole show.

28. Boys in Chairs Continued • From then on, the production team on our show took invisible disabilities very, very seriously. • We started talking every day about how our mental health and how our invisible disabilities and our physical disabilities impacted one another. • Each and every day we sat down before we started creating anything and asking each other what our “access needs” were. • This created space for us to talk about what our needs were, and I think that this is so important. • Invisibly Disabled people need space to talk about their needs in the creative space. • Doing that every single day as part of our team has opened up our communication and our creative juices.

29. Boys in Chairs: Continued 2 • The creative team of Boys in Chairs has made a commitment to hire a mental health professional in our next workshops in 2019 and 2020, so that our invisible disabilities can be properly tended to. • This was a huge step forward in validating how invisible disabilities are understood in the creative space. • Also, because we have firsthand knowledge as creators with invisible disabilities and physical disabilities, we will be able to apply this to the spaces we hold the production in. • This kind of communication about invisible disabilities as a way to understand them is important from a production side, but communication can also be vital in spaces for individuals who are entering creative spaces as patrons with disabilities.

30. How to Support Patrons with Invisible Disabilities • We should have signage in all programs that highlight if you have an invisible disability, the theatre/space and the organization will do whatever they can to support you. • When you buy tickets online or in person, there should be a box/option that says: “Do you identify as having an invisible disability?” • This could be a great opportunity for the venue/company to show that they have considered things outside of just physical access, and also it gives them time to prep things. • Widen our idea of the creative space: so many of us with invisible disabilities stay home often, and are unable to physically attend. Streaming and internet options should become standard, so that people can still engage without needing to actually be there.

31. Resources

32. Example: Relaxed Performance for Come From Away Sunday, May 26 Matinee Come From Away, the remarkable true story of 7000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them, is being offered as a relaxed performance on Sunday, May 26th at 2:00 p.m. at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto. Relaxed performances welcome patrons of all ages and their family and friends, including those on the autism spectrum, with a sensory or communication disorder, ADD/ADAHD, a learning disability or anyone who would benefit from a relaxed atmosphere. Patrons can move around, light and noise intensities may be decreased, house lights will stay partially lit and a quiet space is available for anyone who wants a break. This is a special opportunity for people who often cannot attend a theatre performance. And Come From Away should be experienced by everyone. Please distribute the information on this performance to family and friends, so as many people as possible can be made aware of this special performance. Link to Resource Relaxed Performances

33. Accessible Spaces: A Fragrance Free Toolkit University of California, Centre for the Study of Women Although this toolkit includes best practices outside of Canada, creative spaces can better understand how to introduce a fragrant free space. Included in this toolkit are basics on fragrance free spaces, chemical sensitivities, and tips on making your space fragrance free. Link to Resource Scent Free Spaces

34. Questions?

35. Webinar Available Online You can watch all six webinars featured in our Accessibility Series on ArtsBuild Ontario's website, including recordings, slides and transcriptions. Access past webinars here!

36. Accessibility Tool Kit Accessibility in Creative Spaces: A Tool Kit for Ontario Arts Organizations will be released on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. It will be available on our website here!

37. Accessibility Advisory Committee • Kim Fullerton, Access Visual Art/Akimbo Art Promotions (Co-Chair) • Luke Anderson, StopGap Foundation (Co-Chair) • Yvonne Felix, CNIB/Artist • Amy Ross, City of Waterloo • Terry Barna, KW Musical Productions • Shirley Madill, Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery • Andrew Gurza, Accessibility Consultant • Sean Lee, Tangled Art Gallery • Christine Karcza, Accessibility Consultant • Kevin Puddister, Dundas Museum & Archives • Aislinn Thomas, Artist • Jessica Vellenga, formerly Hamilton Artists Inc.

38. Acknowledgements and Survey We would like to thank our accessibility advisory committee and the Government of Ontario for supporting this project. Kindly complete the survey on today’s webinar which will be emailed to all participants shortly. Thank you for attending – have a great day!