Art/Access Lab: Meet & Make

Doors at 1:30pm

Art/Access Labs foster a vibrant disabled artist ecosystem through cross-discipline and cross-impairment professional development activities.

This Art/Access Lab gathering invites artists with disabilities, and anyone exploring their relationship to disability, to join an afternoon of meeting fellow artists and making alongside each other.

We will kick off the gathering with an invitation for artists to share what they are working on and if they would like any feedback or support from peers as they continue developing their projects.

This will be followed by open time for creative projects to unfold in community. A variety of spaces will support a variety of projects across disciplines, from visual arts to writing to dance:

A zoom space for virtual attendees and digital projects will have the option for break out rooms (with AI Captioning available);

A flexible workspace with tables, butcher paper, and chairs welcomes projects of any media;

A relaxed area with soft seating, cushions, and floor seating might be best for crafting, journaling, and reflection; and

An open area will invite dance, movement, and stretching.

Artists working on music- and sound-based projects are encouraged to bring headphones. Anyone who isn’t able to bring a project, or who needs a break from their project, will be able to contribute to a collaborative weaving.

Plus, staff from UDF and HCL will offer “office hours” as a supportive space for individual conversations around an aspect of your creative project or career. Topics to be announced. Office hours will be offered in person and virtually.

As always, light refreshments, CART captioning, and ASL interpretation will be provided.

Do you know someone with a disability, exploring their relationship to disability, or invested in fostering a vibrant disabled artist ecosystem? Please bring them along to this free community gathering!
Who Should Attend

Art/Access Labs are centered around artists with a lived experience of disability including Deaf, disabled, sick, neurodivergent, and Mad artists, and those working through their relationship to these categories, working in all mediums, with anyone who is invested in fostering a vibrant creative ecosystem inclusive of artists with disabilities.
RSVP

Advanced registration is appreciated but not required.

Meet the Facilitators

In Person Facilitators

Aquil Chartlon (HCL Artistic Director) & Maggie Bridger (UDF member)

Zoom Facilitator

Terri Lynne Hudson is a disabled, chronically ill queer actor and multidisciplinary artist and disability rights advocate living and working in Chicago. She has a BA in General Studies in the Humanities, concentrating in theatre, film and dramatic literature, from University of Chicago. She has studied at Second City, Vagabond School of the Arts and Acting Studio Chicago. She has performance credits with, among others, Citadel Theatre, Strawdog Theatre Company, Accidental Shakespeare Company and Wildclaw Theatre. She recently performed as part of the SHIFT video installation, led by Barak Ade Soleil, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Her voice can also be found reading creepy short stories on Audible and on the Random Acts Scary Stories Around the Fire and the Chilling Tales for Dark Nights podcasts.
Access Information

This event is intended to be relaxed, welcoming and comfortable for everyone. We will have multiple forms of seating available, as well as stim materials and ear defenders. You are welcome to come and go, bring your own access tools, and move about the space as needed during the event.

ASL interpretation and CART provided. All speakers will use microphones. Agendas will be provided to all registrants in both text and symbol-based formats. AI Captioning available via zoom. The main event space will not use fluorescent lighting.

Face masks are requested except when this presents a language barrier or when one is performing. Please refrain from wearing any scented perfume, cologne, lotion, etc.

For questions or requests regarding accessibility, please contact Angee Lennard, HCL’s Accessibility Coordinator, at angee@highconceptlabs.org or 312-374-1117.

Co-presented by High Concept Labs and Unfolding Disability Futures.

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Official Website

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Tags: Angee Lennard, Aquil Chartlon, Art/Access Lab: Meet & Make, Barak adé Soleil, Chicago, Experimental Station, High Concept Labs, Maggie Bridger, Terri Lynne Hudson, Woodlawn