Friday, June 24, 2011

Front and Centre: Disability and Deaf Arts in Ontario - Event Review

In March of 2009 I participated a very promising event at the the Canada Council for the Arts in Ottawa.

The Disability Arts Focus Group was intended as a means for the Canada Council for the Arts to explore ways of  identifying and supporting specific needs of artists with disabilities associated with an artistic activity. After this two day, very intense focus group I really felt that something had been accomplished.  And, indeed it had. Several months later a shiny report was produced.  Some of the info gathered during that focus group would help the CCA identify;

  • who and what types of activities needed funding 
  • monitor relevance and impact on a variety of demographic groups in Canada 
  • create greater access to grants and services for a broad range of artists
  • address gaps and barriers to funding faced by different groups through the development of equity policies and strategic activities

So I was very  excited when I received an invitation to Front and Centre: Disability and Deaf Arts in Ontario; an event presented by The Ontario Arts Council, the Art Gallery of Ontario
and the Canada Council for the Arts held at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto on June 3rd 2011.

Finally something concrete was to come of this.  

I want to take a moment here to offer my thanks, congratulations and a big thumbs up to the organizations involved in this undertaking.  I am all too aware of the challenges and learning curve such an endeavour entails. The world of accessibility is a new frontier for many.  I think that for a first time you guys did an excellent job and I'm sure you learned a lot.  One is always learning when it comes to accessibility and the wide range of accommodations and implementation of practice that is involved.  Anything contained hereafter in this review  is solely intended as positive feedback, as I truly hope to see further development after this fine start. 

So, being very excited, I promptly went to the Ontario Arts Council Website to register.  The OAC is also to be commended having redesigned their website to incorporate a variety of accessibility features to their online content.  However, the actual functionality of the content needs some work and a bit of maintenance to ensure true compliance.  

Being the good accessibility advocate that I am :), and since access to digital content is my specialty as a consultant,  I ran an accessibility test on the page, which contained a multitude of accessibility errors, the most glaring of which was that the form fields for registration form were not labeled, thus excluding users of screen reader technology from being able to independently complete and submit the form. A simple problem that could be fixed by following standard WCAG standards in website content design.  Incidentally, none of the downloadable contant, including grant applications, pdf and other documentation is propperly tagged to make it accessible.  Access technology cannot read any of this material.  (see info at the end of this post)

The following, quoted from the invitation is what the event offered;  

"The expert panel will feature artists who are Deaf or who have disabilities presenting their perspective on their arts practice and career development. Panelists will offer a better understanding of the voices; perspectives; artistic preoccupations of; and, issues facing artists who are Deaf or have disabilities."

"The event will also offer an opportunity for networking and relationship-building amongst artists, arts organizations and funding agencies."

How awesome is that! 

And it was awesome for the most part.  However, despite the wide range of accessibility needs that were addressed for the event;  (again quoted from their material)

  • The Art Gallery of Ontario is wheelchair accessible (ramp entrance is on Dundas Street West at the front building entrance).
  • ASL interpretation and English captioning will be provided.
  • French simultaneous translation (audio) will be provided.
  • Attendant care will be provided.
  • A quiet, private space will be available at the event.

there was one significant oversight.  What about us blind and vision impaired folks?  I have participated in hundreds, if not thousands of accessible events, and consistently blind and low vision persons are rarely accommodated. There is no print access, no audio description, no knowledgeable trained guides, etc.  Frustrating to say the least. I will address this in greater detail shortly. I remain positive that upon recognizing these issues future accommodation processes will be implemented.

As I stated, I was really looking forward to hearing the panel discus their work, and presumably how these organizations had moved forward in implementing accessibility concepts which made this possible.  I was hoping that they would discus this process in the 20 minutes allotted each artist.

For the most part this was true.  I recognize that these presentations were for funders and arts professionals who are new to the disability arts world, so, although I personally didn't really get much out of these presentations, I'm sure they learned a great deal about artist abilities and the types of work being done.  Perhaps in future a different sort of informational session could be presented specifically for artists to gather and learn from the experience of others and the funders and arts professionals inclusively.

My only real criticism, was that save for one presenter, all visual presentations were not accessible to myself, or any of my vision impaired compatriots. Which is unfortunate, as there was a presentation by deaf media artist Chantal Dequire that I was very interested in, and would have appreciated a bit of structured Audio Description.  Subsequently, another slide show during the presentation was not described.   I think this is just a matter of educating presenters in effective accessible presentation technique.  Perhaps a future workshop?

I would however like to commend Janna Gorham for eloquently describing her slide presentation.  She was organized, articulate, and I thought it was very insightful and considerate initiative, and perhaps should be considered as a requirement, or strongly recommended to future presenters.  The awesome thing was, that Chantal herself was seated behind the projection screen, so she couldn't actually see what was up there.  Very together presenter, I must say.

The Q & A that followed was a bit of a let down.  Firstly because due to scheduling delays, there was not enough time for questions, and secondly, the question process needs a bit of work.

Following the presentations were the AGO tours.  I was looking forward to this too.  I was especially interested in the accessible tour for blind and vision impaired persons.  The tour guides stood at the back of the room holding up signs for the various tours, including this and the ASL tours.  WTF?

It might have been a good idea to announce the various tours following the presentation so that those of us who could not read those signs might have hooked up with the appropriate tour guide.

Another little thing I'd like to mention is that, after sitting for a couple of hours, we badly needed a bog break.  Upon returning from the lieu, most of the tours had left.

I was with a fellow vision impaired actor, and we ended up going on the Dutch tour as we couldn't find the specific tour we wanted.  Very disappointing as I would like to review that as well.  I'll be back AGO :).

Following the tours was the "networking" part of the program.  Food and drinks were served buffet style.  Always lots of fun for us blind folks.  Hmm, whats this, and how do I get it?  This is very common at events, and I'll just skip over for now, but access to comestibles should be a consideration at any event!  Free food to artists is gold.

It seemed to me that most of the professional people that |I would have liked to connect with had disappeared by now.  Not that I would have known who they were anyway.  I have pretty good vision for my condition, but I cannot really identify people from a distance unless I am very familiar with them.  I certainly cannot read their name tags. Mostly I guess.  It's instinct. 

So I find these networking events stressful and intimidating (not something I like to admit to, but let it be said here).  Those of us who have this problem need to have some way of finding, and identifying persons of interest.  Perhaps some sort of guide to provide introduction?  I'm not really sure how to solve that.  But it's always been a real obstacle for me, and this is really the first time I've admitted to that. Ouch. 

Some people think we low vision people may be rude or aloof, or shy, but really it's just that we don't know who the heck you are. .

That said, the following entertainment, while a nice showcase of talent, prevented any meaningful conversation.  I had assumed that the performers would provide an ambiance to the event, but the remaining time was taken up by focusing everyone's attention to the stage.

No further networking was accomplished. 

I'm glad I had the foresight to bring some printed material for the table and hope that it made it's way into the appropriate hands. I will also present this info again at the end of this post.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I think this event was a huge success for the most part.  It was a big step forward, and as I stated earlier, I'm sure future initiatives will improve from the experience.  Thanks again to the AGO, the OAC and the CCA.  I look forward to traveling this road with you.


Now, here is some info on how I can help provide access solutions to help you pave that road a little more smoothly.  You can also check out my previous blog post. Increase Your Audience By Being Accessible – Access to Digital Content http://accessfitz.blogspot.com/2011/06/increase-your-audience-by-being.html


Make the Arts Accessible To Everyone
Increase your audience.
Make digital content,
performance & events accessible.
Contact Access (SCS) Consulting Services
416-561-7942

 

Attention Arts organizations - Access (SCS) Consulting Services can help solve your accessibility needs. We provide Training and Audience Accessibility workshops, Digital Content Services, Website audits and more.   

What makes Access (SCS) Consulting Services Different?
We engage experienced arts practitioners with disabilities who understand the industry as well as accessibility compliance standards.
 
Website AuditsEnsure that your website is accessible. We can provide:
  • Evaluation of your site using current accessibility standards 
  • Explanation of what the problems are, including a ranking of priorities and specific instruction on what needs to be done 
  • Overall best practices, recommendations
  • A usability section provided by access technology users

Document Conversion
  • Convert documents into an accessible format compatible with adaptive technologies
  • adapt document styles and formats in Word, PowerPoint & more.
  • Create accessible PDFs 
  • Modify existing PDFs with accessible tags 
  • Convert existing PDFs into other formats such as accessible HTML, Word and PowerPoint

Workshops and Seminars
  • Accessibility training or awareness
  • Accessible web design to reach a wider audience
  • Document Accessibility
  • Performance and Event accessibility:
  • Audio Description
  • Captions
  • Touch Tours
  • ASL 

Leave the Accessibility to Us! Our expertise will make you accessible! See www.access-scs-consulting.com or call 416-561-7942.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Butternut Series

ReflectionHello KittyPlaytimeGoodbyeRelaxingDressing
Showtime!The PoseBirthdayAloneSylence MacCleod

Butternut Series, a set on Flickr.

Now you can check out my recent projects and creations on flicker; artwork and photography. Why not visit Fitz Pix. Please take a gander, and if you like what yous ee, leave a comment.
Thanks.
Wanda

Via Flickr:
On her 40th birthday, Sylence MacCleod awoke to find she had changed. Upon looking in the mirror, she found she had become a clown. This series depicts moments in her life after that awakening.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Sargasso - The Audio Described Experience

Yesterday I went to Sargasso by Philip Beesley.  Sargasso is a large scale suspended sculpture on display during the Luminato Festival at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place from June 8 to 18, 2011.  

The instalation is amazing.  


Philip Beesley’s “Sargasso” combines visionary design with high-tech digital engineering to transform a downtown public space – and to offer a glimpse of the potential future of architectural art. A worldwide pioneer in the fast-growing field of responsive architecture, Beesley and his team of collaborators from the disciplines of architecture, engineering, biology, and sculpture use interactive technology to infuse one of Toronto’s busiest spaces with astonishing new life.

As if existing properties of this piece of "living art" aren't awesome enough; and they are, things move in response to your presence, there are little sounds and lights continually participating in the evolution of your experience, this  exhibit is AUDIO DESCRIBED FOR BLIND AND LOW VISION visitors.  You can download the audio file, or, if you have a smart device, you can scan the bar code at the site and play it on your phone.  Pretty cool eh?


The afternoon was beautiful and sunny.  The light in the space was stunning.  My friend and colleague Rose Jacobson and I were blown away by the beauty and genius of the design and application of the piece.  And the audio description mad it even better.  I took some photos (alas, silly me didn't bring a proper camera) on my iPhone, and have put together a little video with the audio for you to share a little of our experience.    This was a pretty quick job, as I want to get it posted ASAP, so people can get down there while Sargasso is still up.  


So, enjoy the soothing voice of audio describer Rebecca Singh on this photo tour of Sargasso.
This video is a creative collage made by artist Wanda Fitzgerald. the
soundtrack is an audio description of the sculpture "Sargasso" and is
intended for use while physically at the sculpture. This audio recording
is being used as "narration" here by special permission from Rebecca
Singh and Theatrelocal.org
 





 








YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe2YsNcUJNU

Monday, June 13, 2011

Increase Your Audience By Being Accessible – Access to Digital Content

Attention Arts organizations - the information contained here may prove invaluable. Access (SCS) Consulting Services can help you solve your accessibility needs and increase your patronage.

Arts organizations have long been struggling financially; this in part has to do with cuts to arts funding and in part due to declining audiences. Making your online content accessible for people with disabilities, seniors, friends and family can increase your profitability.

People with disabilities make up 15.5% of the population, which is a significant number when you consider audience development.  Providing access to digital content, making exhibits and performances accessible could help to capture this market. People with disabilities, seniors and their companions have money to spend and want to enjoy the arts.

While Arts organizations in Ontario are slowly beginning to make an effort to make events accessible with audio description, closed captioning and ASL, they consistently disregard one very important aspect of making their events fully accessible: access to digital content.  Potential patrons may not be able to interact with content on websites, PDF documents, forms, ticketing information, videos and other content.  As a result, your organization may not be attracting a large segment of the population that can make your events more profitable. These barriers need to be addressed if change is to happen.

The goal here is to make the arts accessible to all people – a goal that needs to be adopted both in the material universe as well as in policy-making circles. We must ensure that all people, artists and patrons, have the ability to participate in the arts with ease and dignity. This is a win/win situation for everyone!

What Is Digital Content?
Digital content is any information that is published or distributed in digital form, including; text, data, sound recordings, photographs and images, motion pictures and software.

What Needs To Be Made Accessible?
  • Web Design and Usability (including online ticketing)
  • Text and data
  • photographs, images
  • Audio/Video
  • PDF (including documents, applications and facility rental forms)
  • Word and PowerPoint documents
  • Events and Performances

As more information is transferred electronically, making digital content accessible becomes a social responsibility, especially if the content is meant for the public.

Making digital content accessible is neither a difficult nor an expensive task. Most common software applications like Adobe PDF maker and Microsoft Office have built-in tools for making documents accessible.

While providing accessibility benefits people with disabilities who are deemed a large minority group, it should not be forgotten that these same features are useful for seniors, people who have low internet bandwidth, and individuals accessing content through mobile devices. Making digital content simple to interact with is a priority when attracting a wide audience.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) outlines the following four basic principles in making websites accessible:

Perceivable — Information and user interface components must be presentable to users such that they can perceive the presented information, i.e. it can’t be invisible to all their senses.

Operable — Users must be able to operate interface components and navigate. The interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform.

Understandable— Users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface.

Robust— Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. Users must be able to access the content even as technologies advance.

ACCESS (SCS) CONSULTING SERVICES
What makes Access (SCS) Consulting Services Different?
We engage experienced arts practitioners with disabilities who understand the industry as well as accessibility compliance standards.

Website Audits
Ensure that your website is accessible. We can provide:

  • Evaluation of your site using WCAG 2.0 and W3C guidelines, U.S. section 508 of the rehabilitation act and AODA legislation
  • Explanation of what and where the problems are, including a ranking of priorities and specific instruction on what needs to be done to address each issue
  • Overall best practices, recommendations
  • A usability section provided by both screen magnifier and screen reader users
Document Conversion
  • Convert your documents into an accessible format that works with adaptive technologies.
  • Adapting document styles and formats in Word, PowerPoint and other formats
  • Creating accessible PDFs from documents in Word, PowerPoint and other formats
  • Modifying your existing PDFs with accessibility tags and alternative text for images
  • Converting your existing PDFs into other formats such as accessible HTML, Word and PowerPoint
Special Workshops and Seminars
  • Accessibility training
  • Accessible web design to reach a wider audience
  • Document Accessibility
  • Performance and Event accessibility:
    • Audio Description
    • Captions
    • Touch Tours
    • ASL 

Access (SCS) Consulting Services









Leave the Accessibility to Us!
Need help making digital content accessible?  Contact Access (SCS) Consulting Services to try our NEW website design and PDF document conversion services. Our new associate, Wanda Fitzgerald, is an expert accessibility and digital content consultant with more than 15 years experience. We make existing documents, forms or other digital content accessible.  Our prices will make you smile. Our expert services will make you accessible! See www.access-scs-consulting.com or call 416-561-7942

Thursday, June 9, 2011

LUMINATO FESTIVAL, SARGASSO DOWNLOADABLE MP3 FILE LINK

Dear Friends!

Here is the accessible URL for our Audio Description of Sargasso- which is a
wonderful large-scale suspended sculpture at this year's LUMINATO.

 http://www.luminato.com/2011/download/sargasso

Select the URL to go directly to the downloadable audio file. You can
download this file and bring it with you to listen to on your mobile device
or mp3 player.

The press release about the exhibit is pasted below! Please enjoy and  bring
your friends! I welcome your feedback as well,

yours, on behalf of Picasso PRO/CT

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luminato 2011 is June 10−19, mark your calendars!


LUMINATO INTRODUCES AUDIO DESCRIPTION PILOT PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP WITH PICASSO PRO/CREATIVE TRUST AND THEATRE LOCAL

The Luminato Festival is proud to announce the preparation of an audio description for “Sargasso,” a large scale suspended sculpture on display at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place from June 8 to 18, 2011. Users will be able to download the audio description as an mp3 file in advance or onsite with a smart phone device. This marks the first time that Luminato offers a descriptive service specifically targeted at the visually impaired community.

In his Luminato-commissioned installation, Philip Beesley’s “Sargasso” combines visionary design with high-tech digital engineering to transform a downtown public space – and to offer a glimpse of the potential future of architectural art. A worldwide pioneer in the fast-growing field of responsive architecture, Beesley and his team of collaborators from the disciplines of architecture, engineering, biology, and sculpture use interactive technology to infuse one of Toronto’s busiest spaces with astonishing new life.

From June 8-18, Beesley’s “Sargasso” transforms a familiar downtown locale: the sweeping atrium of the Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place. “Sargasso” is a vast canopy consisting of tens of thousands of lightweight, digitally-fabricated components which form an interconnected network of metal, acrylic, and mylar elements. Sargasso slowly shifts and floats above the pedestrian traffic, while shaping the nature of the environment itself.


Previous projects undertaken by this multidisciplinary group have been featured internationally, including in the Canadian Pavilion at the 2010 Venice Biennale in Architecture, and have won many awards, notably VIDA 11.0, FEIDAD, the Prix de Rome in Architecture, and the People’s Choice award at Toronto’s 2010 Nuit Blanche.

Audio Describer Rebecca Singh trained with Picasso Pro/Creative Trust and was last heard describing “More Fine Girls” at the Tarragon Theatre. Rebecca has also been a Fellow of the Luminato Festival* since September 2010.


The audio description pilot program is produced in association with Picasso Pro/Creative Trust and Theatre Local. This small project is serving as a pilot project, with the hopes that audio description can be integrated throughout the visual arts program in years coming.

*This position is generously funded by the Canada Arts Training Fund at the Department of Canadian Heritage, in partnership with Obsidian Theatre Company.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Featured Artist - Murray Powell

I've decided to start a new feature on my blog.  Once a month (hopefully) I will post the profile of an artist with a disability whose work I am familiar with.  This month, and my very first feature, will be Murray Powell.  
Murray Powell


Murray is an extraordinarily talented singer songwriter who lives in Toronto, and I've known him for many years.  We have also worked in the theatre together on several productions when I was with The Glenvale Players, the most memorable being a production of "Greetings" by Tom Dudzick. Murray is currently a contestant in this year's iFactor completion held by CNIB.     
He will be releasing his first CD entitled “REMEDIOS” on June 25th. If you would like to hear a sample of Murray's music, a haunting and beautiful song about life in a residential school, please follow the link below, and DON'T FORGET TO VOTE FOR HIM. http://www.theifactor.ca/VideoGallerySite/contest/MyVideoPlayer.aspx?ID=HBzcBe7O9Qk

Note regarding iFactor: This is an annual fund raising event held to benefit CNIB, not the artist. However, they do win a prize and receive recognition. Each vote costs $1 the proceeds of which go to CNIB
This post in no way supports the contest, only the artist, who is fabulous.

So, gentle readers, without further adieu, and in his own words, I give thee;  

Mr. Murray Powell...

"I am a singer, song writer and performer and I play rhythm guitar and Bass as well.
I have been involved in music since the age of 12 as my parents both were musicians and I experimented with Piano, accordion, trumpet and trombone. I also used to play and sing with some other friends at high school dances.  I studied music in school and attained a grade 8 vocal and grade 3 in music theory and played major roles in some Gilbert & Sullivan operettas including the Macado and HMS Pinafore.
 
For a time during my work life I put music aside but, more recently, I got back into playing and took guitar lessons in the early 2000’s.  During the past 9 years I got back into singing publicly starting with a live performance at a fundraiser event for the Glenvale Players Theater group in 2002.

Two years ago I formed a group called Prowler and the Wildman AKA “PWM” comprising a mandolin, lead guitar, drums and myself and for several months we performed a weekly gig from 8:00pm to midnight on Wednesday nights at the Black Swan in the east end of Toronto, until the owners had a change in venue.  I have also performed at several other local open stages and bars including Sarah’s Café, TKO’s, California Bar and Grill, The Old Nick, Eton House and Tario’s

Over the past 4 years I have participated in a weekly jam with a group of other musicians held on Saturday afternoons which is still occurring at Wise Guys Bar & Grill on Danforth Ave. east of Woodbine (Toronto) where I have had the occasion to try out many new songs and share good times with these musicians.
I also had the opportunity to perform at Winter Folk this past spring a music festival held annually in the east end of Toronto.

I have a repertoire of over 300 cover songs including country, folk, Irish, blues and good old rock and roll.

In June, 2011 I recorded and (will) released my first CD of original songs called “remedios” comprising 13 of my own compositions.  This CD is dedicated to the memory of my daughter Leslie Marie Kelly who was killed in 2008 at the age of 26 and there is a special song for her on this album.

I am looking for opportunities to play either independently or with my group as well as promote my CD and welcome any referrals that may come my way.  I am also open to participating in interviews and or discussing my material upon request.

Please feel free to contact me at the address cited below.
  
Thank you for your interest"

Thanks so much Murray, and I will be at your launch in two weeks with my box of tissue.  I know I'm gonna cry when I hear Leslie's song.  Wishing you the best of luck with lots of love.



Tuesday, June 7, 2011

A Play with POV Audio Description - Common Criminal 2008 - Scene 1



In November 2008 we remounted my London Fringe production of Common Criminal.  An experiment in alternative descriptive audio, wherein, instead of a third person narrator, the description is mainly voiced by included characters of the (DVS) Memory, played by Debbie Gillespie, who was concealed from the audience.  Debbie is actually blind, so it was an interesting process to develop the description.  And the Voice Over for the thoughts of Gregory McPherson, played by singer song writer Sean Peever, who also performs all the music in the show.  The show was performed at the Tranzac Club in Toronto, with the audience using typical audio description receivers..   Those who chose to use them were treated to an entirely secret and eerie layer to the story. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you. . .

Common Criminal - Scene One  (with transcription and POV audio Description)

Common Criminal: A Dark Drama Written and Directed by Wanda C. Fitzgerald

THE STORY: A Dark Drama Based on Real Events. Befriended by a charming stranger, Maureen, a blind employee of Avon Probation Services, discovers she is being systematically stalked by a man convicted of the brutal rape and murder of a disabled woman. Will further incarceration detour his goals, or simply postpone them? This unique drama features original live music, experimental POV Descriptive narration, interpretive dance and and integrated cast of blind and sighted actors.

Geoff Gilmour-Taylor (McPherson)
Sean Peever (music, descriptive voice over of McPherson's thoughts.)
Debbie Gillespie (DVS Memory)
Wanda Fitzgerald (Grace, The Memory)

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Access Fitz!: LUMINATO INTRODUCES AUDIO DESCRIPTION PILOT PROGRA...

Access Fitz!: LUMINATO INTRODUCES AUDIO DESCRIPTION PILOT PROGRA...: "Gentle readers; I am posting the following information here. However, I am not responsible for the accessibility issues with Luminato's web..."

LUMINATO INTRODUCES AUDIO DESCRIPTION PILOT PROGRAM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PICASSO PRO/CREATIVE TRUST AND THEATRE LOCAL

Gentle readers;
I am posting the following information here.  However, I am not responsible for the accessibility issues with Luminato's website, which at a glance would appear to be substantial.  If you have trouble accessing information on the www.luminato.com website, including content and ticketing info, please make them aware of it.  Here is their contact info since the contact form on the site isn't labeled and you won't be able to use it. 

 
Luminato
111 Queen Street East, Suite 450
Toronto, ON
M5C 1S2

T: 416-368-3100
F: 416-368-4010
 
Arts organizations need to make their online content accessible as well as their events.  We are pioneering this area in Canada, so please attend.  Constructive feedback is essential in order to develop and improve upon technique, as well as make organizations aware of what needs to be done to achieve inclusion.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Luminato Festival is proud to announce the preparation of an audio description for “Sargasso,” a large scale suspended sculpture on display at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place from June 8 to 18, 2011. The audio file will be available at for download  beginning June 8th. Users will be able to download the audio description as an mp3 file in advance or onsite with a smart phone device. This marks the first time that Luminato offers a descriptive service specifically targeted to the visually impaired community.

In his Luminato-commissioned installation, Philip Beesley’s “Sargasso” combines visionary design with high-tech digital engineering to transform a downtown public space – and to offer a glimpse of the potential future of architectural art. A worldwide pioneer in the fast-growing field of responsive architecture, Beesley and his team of collaborators from the disciplines of architecture, engineering, biology, and sculpture use interactive technology to infuse one of Toronto’s busiest spaces with astonishing new life.


From June 8-18, Beesley’s “Sargasso” transforms a familiar downtown locale: the sweeping atrium of the Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place. “Sargasso” is a vast canopy consisting of tens of thousands of lightweight, digitally-fabricated components which form an interconnected network of metal, acrylic, and mylar elements. Sargasso slowly shifts and floats above the pedestrian traffic, while shaping the nature of the environment itself.


Previous projects undertaken by this multidisciplinary group have been featured internationally, including in the Canadian Pavilion at the 2010 Venice Biennale in Architecture, and have won many awards, notably VIDA 11.0, FEIDAD, the Prix de Rome in Architecture, and the People’s Choice award at Toronto’s 2010 Nuit Blanche
Audio Describer Rebecca Singh trained with Picasso Pro/Creative Trust and was last heard describing “More Fine Girls” at the Tarragon Theatre.  Rebecca has also been a Fellow of the Luminato Festival* since September 2010.

The audio description pilot program is produced in association with Picasso Pro/Creative Trust and Theatre Local. This small project is serving as a pilot, with the hopes that audio description can be integrated throughout the visual arts program in years coming.

*This position is generously funded by the Canada Arts Training Fund, at the Department of Canadian Heritage, in partnership with Obsidian Theatre Company.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Access Fitz!: Accessible Graphic Novels - Phase One: Bad Black C...

The latest development in the Accessible Graphic Novel project.

Access Fitz!: Accessible Graphic Novels - Phase One: Bad Black C...: "A couple of months ago I set out on a quest to find the solution to the issue of accessible graphic novels. Well, I haven't found it yet, t..."

Accessible Graphic Novels - Phase One: Bad Black Cats

A couple of months ago I set out on a quest to find the solution to the issue of accessible graphic novels.  Well, I haven't found it yet, though I have many ideas which I am going to investigate.  But I thought it might be interesting to document the process from beginning to end both for technical, and artistic interest.

The first thing I needed to do is find a subject or a story.  I had thought to go with The Patient Old Spider a dark children's tale I wrote years ago about a spider who eats fairies. Cool as that idea is, it's a fair task to create the artwork.  I did panels for the first few pages, but am not happy with them.  This is my first foray into this area, so I need to develop the cartooning skills a bit; and that project is a bit too involved for me at this time.

So I decided to choose simpler subject matter.  I will make some small comic strips to begin with.  My subject?  Two little girls are always getting into trouble and who provide me with endless story telling opportunities in short bursts.  My twin kittens, Lursa and B'Etor; the Bad Black Cats.

If you are a Star Trek fan, yes, I named my cats after the Duras Sisters.  If your not, it's irrelevant.  And if you work for Paramount, Viacom, or whoever owns the franchise now, those really are their names, no infringement intended.

The real Duras sisters: Lursa and B'Etor




My cats: B'Etor (front) Lursa (behind)
The first thing I needed to do was think up a story.  Something simple that can be told in 3 - 4 frames.  This is pretty easy for me.  I have a lot of photos of the fur balls.  So, the day before yesterday they were playing on the dining room table, and before I scolded them for it, I grabbed my camera and took several quick shots.  Thus, Bad Black Cats was conceived.

ctual photographs used for comic strip.
Of course, I'm not going to use the actual photos.  But I chose three of them to use as the basis for some drawings.   The photos above have already been cropped.  They are a bit fuzzy because you have to move quickly with kittens or you miss the moment.  When you already have a vision impairment, this added to the challenge.

After cropping the photos I began to draw.  There are two ways you can do this.  Draw on paper, scan in and ink.  Or draw on computer, ink.  I chose the latter.  Using the photos as an underlay, I drew over top of them using Corel Paint and my tablet.  Basically, I just blocked off the basic shapes in the composition.  After I was satisfied with the composition of the frame, I began inking them in.  I must admit, I found this process quite fun, and am pleased with the results for a first time attempt.

Finished drawings for comic strip
Once the frames were drawn, I now had to arrange them and come up with some dialogue.  Depending on who you "look" at the photos, you could come up with several little scenarios.  Generally, for a more complex story, you should think all of this out ahead of time.  Write your dialogue out and all of that.  But for this I just wanted to keep it simple.  So it was all quite spontaneous.

So, I decided on an order (what you see above) and now it was time to make the speech bubbles. There are a lot of ways to do this.  There are even specific comic making programs for the less ambitious! It's your choice.  For me, I like to use a vector program, Inkscape.

Inkscape is an awesome freeware program similar to Adobe Illustrator.  It is VERY accessible.  Almost everything can be controlled from the keyboard.  Very nice I must say.  The interesting thing, and maybe it's just me, but the keyboard commands are easy to remember.  They seem to coincide with the process of what you are doing.  I have never been able to remember the Adobe key commands.

The first thing you have to do is import the jpg file into Inkscape in order to wok with it.

For a more detailed tutorial an how to create speech bubbles using Inkscape, I will refer you to this blog.
http://thepinksylphide.com/2008/11/21/inkscape-web-comic-tutorial-the-speech-balloon

After you have completed the speech bubbles on a frame, save them as svg files.  This is for future editing, and it may come in handy in the "accessibility process" later on.

Then, export the file as a bitmap. or PNG format.

You can use inkscape to do your layout.  And it works very nicely.  However, in this case, I just decided to use Adobe Photoshop, as I know the program backwards and can work very quickly.  Although, for something more complex, I'd use a proper layout program like Inkscape or Illustrator.

Basically, all I did here was make a black background, resize my PNG images to about 4 x 4.z to fit on the 16' x 6 inch strip. They did require some cropping of course.  And here we are.

Finished comic strip
Of course you probably can't read these speech bubbles, and I haven't gotten to the accessibility bit yet.  So here is a text descriptive.


Description Text
Three Panels on black background
Top Left Title
BAD BLACK CATS
By Wanda Fitzgerald


Panel One:
Lursa and B'tor are sitting on the dining table. Lursa is looking at the viewer. On the table are yellow and orange linen place mats. A paper, part of a book and a rectangular blue object are visible. There is a padded rocker with a wooden frame behind the table.
Lursa is in front, seated, with her foot on a the metallic strips of the tassel of a cat toy attached to a rod. She has a green collar with a shiny green bell.  B'Tor is hiding behind Lursa. Only part of one of B'tor's ears is visible
2 Speech Bubbles:
1. B'Tor: "Pst, Lurs, yer not 'uposed to be on the table."
2. Lursa: "Hi Mummy. I found our toy.  I don't know where B'Tor is.

Panel Two
Same scene, but B'Tor is now on the rocker.  You can only see her head poking out from behind Lursa.  Lursa is looking away and to the right.
4 Speech Bubbles:
1. B'Etor: "B'Etor is a good girl.  See?  Not on table.  I get TUNA!"
2. B'Etor: (to Lursa) "You're bad Lursa.  B'Etor is good."
3. Lursa: "prrrr, prrrr, prrrr, prrrrrr.
4. Lursa: (thinking) "If I don't look at her, she won't see me."

Panel Three
Same scene from a different angle.  The rocker is not visible.  Lursa sits pretty looking at the viewer.
2 Speech bubbles.
1. Lursa: "Lursa is pretty.  Lursa is good.  But very, very pretty. And smart."
2. Lursa: "Hee, hee, heee.  I found the shiny toy. Prrrrrrrrrrr."

Bottom Caption
Antics of the cutest 'er, fiercest (and l'ilest) warrior kittens ever: Lursa & B'Etor.

There you have it.  It's not very sophisticated, the story is VERY simple. The subjects are awesome.  And it is a start.  Something to work with.  Now I will have to explore the "accessibility process". Wish me luck!

View more artwork by Wanda Fitzgerald @ www.wandafitzgerald.carbonmade.com
Buy aret by Wanda Fitzgerald @ http://WandaFitzgerald.imagekind.com/

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Urban Garden Series at Zazzle.ca

At the end of a busy day, for those of us trapped in city madness, here is an oasis to hide in. The mayhem of the world can bleed away and swirl around us. A place to hide, where what we want to make real exists, and the rest??? IRRELEVANT

Urban Garden Series at Zazzle.ca