Out from Under: Disability, History and Things to Remember represents a major breakthrough in access to public history and debate. For this reason, the intellectual and historical content of the exhibit itself is perhaps its most significant access feature. In the most fundamental ways, a commitment to access calls upon us to open doors to cultural participation and recognition. Out from Under: Disability, History and Things to Remember advances a claim by disabled Canadians to their rightful place in the public commons.
Consistent with this ambitious agenda, the Out from Under curatorial team has endeavoured to set a high standard of accessibility for this exhibit. We welcome comments and feedback as we continue to expand and improve the exhibit's accessibility features.
All exhibit texts for Out from Under have been rigorously translated into American Sign Language, and recorded in 15 individual video segments which can be downloaded, streamed online or viewed at the exhibit site. Setting a new standard for authentic interpretation, these texts are presented by native ASL users, Donovan Cooper and Giulio Schincariol, who worked meticulously with ASL-English Consultants Penny Schincariol and Gus Mancini to preserve the poetics and nuanced meanings of the exhibit content.
Detailed descriptions of all textual and visual elements of the exhibit have been rendered precisely and evocatively, in a way that mirrors the visual and emotional tone of each installation. The descriptive texts, written by Out from Under contributor Christine Brown, have been produced as richly layered Soundscapes by Teri Snelgrove. Actors Snelgrove and David McIlwraith bring to their performance of this descriptive audio a sensitivity and depth that greatly enrich the exhibit experience. Inspired by Georgina Kleege's scholarship in visual culture and her 1998 presentation for Ryerson University titled "Blindness at the Museum", these Soundscapes feature musical accents by British Columbia artists Dave Symington and Peter Bourne.
All visitors to the exhibit will have the option of listening to a Plain Language Audio Tour. Presented as a lively and engaging series of conversational dialogues, the Plain Language tour showcases the vocal talents of BC actor and autism advocate, Jake Anthony. As Jake explores the exhibit with his friends David and Teri, his questions probe for context and his insights and discoveries bring clarity and fresh perspectives. Out from Under comes to life vividly and effortlessly in this lively and highly accessible production, written by Ottawa writer and editor Erika Rosenfeld (Prosebusters Communications ) and produced by Teri Snelgrove, with audio engineering and sound design by Jamie Mahaffey (The Mix Room).
With the assistance of many organizational partners, and in some cases thanks to the eBay bidding prowess of our contributor Ryan Hutchins, replica artifacts have been obtained for seven of the thirteen Out from Under installations.
These are available for tactile examination at the exhibit site, revealing aspects and features which are not necessarily apparent to the naked eye. Designed to enhance the exhibit experience for people with visual impairments, Touch Displays are also popular among sighted visitors both young and not-so-young!
All print materials for the exhibit are available in Braille, Plain Text and Large Print versions.
Download full exhibit text in large print.
[Rich Text] [PDF]
'Nothing about us, without us'
Members of the Canada's Deaf and disability communities have been integrally involved not only in the conception and planning of the access features for this exhibit, but also in their production. Our audio soundscapes incorporate the work of disabled writers, actors and musicians, and our ASL translations feature the cutting edge work of Deaf interpreters.
