A few months ago I saw Deaf Explorer promoting a new conference for deaf professionals in the arts and I had to go!
I applied for a bursary opportunity
This would cover my travel and accommodation expenses at the trip. Thankfully, I got it!
I was invited to exhibit my work
at the conference venue’s gallery wall – I couldn’t say no! I chose my most recent painting – a big greenhouse painting that I framed in a gorgeous dark wooden frame.
It was a really fun weekend
It included all sorts of inspiring talks, networking sessions, workshops and panels. I particularly enjoyed these sessions:
‘The evolution of my creative practice’ – Christopher Sacre
Christopher is a deaf visual artist and art facilitator. He specialises in providing accessible workshops/arts activities for deaf people and their families over at his company, See & Create. I already knew him from the deaf community, and we saw each other at art retreats for deaf artists back in 2022 and 2023.
‘How can deaf artists become better allies to each other?’ – Steven Webb
Steven is a deaf actor, director, writer and workshop facilitator who runs a company, D-Live. The talk was a great reminder that we deaf artists need to support each other more.
The panel on ‘how to bring arts into education’
My friend Shauna, a talented ToD (teacher of the deaf) was on the panel alongside others. Shauna is also an artist and we get together once in the while, including at the retreats!
The ‘How to be seen’ workshop
This was both educational and fun. It was run by a deaf artist, Emily Rose and a deaf performer, Sarah Adedeji. In the end, we all were paired up to tell each other what we did for five minutes, and then switched places until we all got fully introduced to each other!
The ‘How to apply for Arts Council funding’ talk
This was by Omeima and Kelly, who works at the Arts Council. I also got an opportunity to have a 1-1 session with Kelly to discuss my dream project and whether there’s suitable funding for it.
These talks were inspiring and made me feel like anything is possible, despite my deafness and the barriers we face. I hope there will be more accessible conferences like this in the future!
It was really nice to meet other artists who are deaf like me
We could share our experiences in the industry in a conference space that was accessible to us. Some of the speakers were BSL users and there were BSL interpreters at every other talk.
It was also unreal seeing people enjoying and discussing my painting on the gallery wall!
