Creating Access presents
Formed in 2021 the NB Disability Art Collective is a group of New Brunswick artists with lived experience of disability interested in Disability Arts and advocating for accessiblity to arts.
What is Disability Arts?
“Disability art, any creative work that explores a disability experience, either in content or in form. Although the term disability art is sometimes restricted to artwork that is intended primarily for audiences with disabilities, many disabled artists create work that is intended for audiences that include both disabled and nondisabled people. Occasionally the term is used to refer to any artwork created by a disabled person, whether referencing disability or not, but that usage is uncommon among members of the disability community. A primary function of disability art has been to articulate for the disability community as well as for the mainstream what disability means—politically, personally, and aesthetically.” (https://www.britannica.com/art/disability-art)
The Canada Council for the Arts defines it as “Disability arts are created by people with disabilities or with mental illness. This includes artistic practices and processes grounded in ensuring that the lived experiences and identities of disabled people are conveyed, explored or represented. This typically means that disabled artists are directors, creators or main contributors to the artistic process.”
Latest News
Disability Atlantic Art Symposium in the News
Artist Residency Exploring Disability Aesthetics
Interview with Lucas Patuelli Disability Without Poverty
Since our weekend at the Northside Creators Market, Cass, a student at NBCCD now has a both called Brush Stroke
Podcast Interviews
Featured Visual Artists
Hello my name is Cass. The day I almost died was actually the day I started living. At the age of 22 I suffered a stroke. It left me with many deficits. A few of the most frustrating ones is ataxia and my nystagmus. Which makes my vision shaky.
My fine moter skills aren’t the best, it’s very difficult for my fingers to hold onto small objects. I have been looking for an exercise that would help my ataxia, then after hosting a paint and sip I discovered how fun and therapeutic painting was! It helps greatly with my fine motor skills, coordination, balance, vision, & even overall brain health. There was so many cool techniques that somebody with even my level of ability could do! I’m a perfectionist, so I end up trying really hard to make a painting turn out good. In turn I create works of art at the same time!
Hi, my name is Ysabelle. I am the artist behind this site. I have been visually impaired since birth and acquired chronic pain and anxiety later in life.
I believe that accessibility requires innovation and who better to lead the charge artists wirh lived experience of course. Nothing about us without us. I found it very helpful to learn about the social model of disability As well as the disability rights movement.
I wanted a place where local New Brunswick artists experiencing disability can connect and share resources with each other. I want to start a dialogue where we can identify the barriers in terms of accessing the arts
Currently learning more about how to integrate audio description in my own work.
Hey I’m Ryan, I started selling my art in 2020 and sold around 38 canvases a handful
of prints as well as posters. I’ve donated to charities. Stray Cat Rescue in Sussex.
Glaucoma research. As well as a few fundraisers one of which helped a coworker
with a headstone after the unexpected loss of her son.
I’ve created artwork for a friend who passed away for his family. I made a
memorial piece.
I’ve gifted a few pieces one to Adica Massage , one to Medicine Man.
Donated one to a friends Church in St Stephen for their fundraiser.
I’m just a self taught visually impaired Artist showing people to chase their dreams
and to not let a disease or illness hold them back and to always push forward
believe in yourself and just have fun with it.
Hi, I’m Kyra Goguen. Marketer by day artist by night. I’ve been painting on an off since I was a teenager. I started with Acrylics and in university, while I did not have time to paint did I get my minor in Art History. Years later after attending a workshop hosted by Sophie LeBlanc Art, my love of painting was rekindled. What I love the most about watercolour is that the medium forces you to let go and not be a perfectionist. it has a mind of its own, and therapeutically force me to “go with the flow” (pun intended). I’m drawn to florals and fauna, and occasionally landscapes. I’m also inspired by vintage floral paintings like those found in Victorian botany textbooks. I’m also a voice actress. I’ve narrated telephone prompts, e-learning modules, descriptive video and promotional videos for Medavie Blue Cross, Accessible Media Inc. as well as the Greater Moncton International Airport.
Hi, I’m Laurianne, Ysabelle’s cool mom. I am a visual artist and curator. I believe art is a powerful tool for love and healing.
I have done sculpture, quilting, embroidery. But mainly I have painting working mostly with oil and acrylic.
Currently, I am having a lot fun doing fabric collage. I am also participating in the Isaac’s Way Art Auction. Art has really connected our family over the years.
Welcome these Artists who are new to the group
Hi, I am Darren Hanson Anxious Folk Artist extraordinaire living in French Lake New Brunswick. I specialize in making art that is furniture but, I dabble in DIY everything. I grew up in a hardware store, so I’ve gotten to know products and, MacGyvering things pretty well.
I was featured in Grid City Magazine you can read the interview here and you can also see one of my sculptures at Monarch in downtown Fredericton.
Tobie Gregan
Kristen Barnes
Alex is an illustrator and graphic artist. A photographer and predominantly digital painter, specializing in portraits and landscapes. His artwork blends photography and illustration with elements of surrealism and fantasy.
“I believe art is an exchange of impression, be it an image, sentiment, thought, or perhaps a time. By turning to digital- and mixed- media to reduce waste, I was able to experiment with a greater degree of freedom, and discover ways to express this belief in my practice.”
Alex has continued to further his career as an educator in Arts and Sciences at the University of New Brunswick since 2016. A published columnist, his illustrations were honored with an award from the Geological Association of Canada at the 2020 GeoConvention in Alberta.
Disability Arts Writing
Hi I am Christiana, a curator and artist from Saint John, New Brunswick. I have my MLitt in Curatorial Practice from the Glasgow School of Art and was Canadian Art’s winter 2018 editorial resident.
On the Complexity of Cripping the Arts – Canadian Art
Automatisme Ambulatoire: Hysteria, Imitation, Performance – Canadian Art
Hi Ysabelle again here, I was fortunate to attend a workshop hosted by Artslink NB and Canadian Art Magazine on Arts Writing.
Akimbo/Disability Atlantic Arts Symposium