Image, courtesy of the artist / Design by Claire Whitaker

Arts Assembly presents a community-driven project at SummerWorks, pairing dancers with Blind and low vision participants to explore access through movement and description.

Join Arts Assembly for a 90-minute public sharing and conversation on August 15th, where facilitators and community participants exchange ideas, and share their knowledge and experiences.

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Through Bringing Us Together: Dance, Description and Access, Arts Assembly focuses on community skills development through the SummerWorks Performance Festival with a unique approach that brings together dancers and movement-based artists with Blind and low vision participants. The project explores movement, description, and access through relationship-building and collaborative experimentation.

It begins with an open call for 15 dancers and performers, selected through a simple application emphasizing diversity of practice and lived experience. Blind and low vision participants are invited to participate through community outreach – no application necessary.

In August, an in-person workshop will introduce dancers and performers to the basics of Creative Audio description. Dancers and performers will then have the opportunity to act as “whisper guides,” offering an intimate, relational access experience for Blind and low vision audiences. The project culminates with a community conversation featuring facilitators from the project, Guest Curators from Arts Assembly, as well as Blind and low vision and sighted participants of the project.

Facilitators: Dancemakers Guest Curators, Meichen Waxer and Whitney Brennan

In Discussion: Annemarie Cabri, (she/her) Dance Description Mentee and Workshop Facilitator, Blind and low vision community members, and workshop participants.