Creative Enabling: Relations and Structures of Support for Disabled Artists

Abstract

The levels of accessibility and accommodation for disabled theatre artists in Canada are diverse and varied. Without consistent infrastructures in place to support these artists, creative workarounds and new ways of creating have been developed. Becky Gold has worked with blind artist Alex Bulmer for nearly four years, navigating systems of support and accessibility (or lack thereof) within Bulmer’s various artistic projects. Together, they have come to an understanding about what support means to them and how it can best be nurtured and evolve from one project to the next. Drawing from their experiences of working together in Canada as well as from Bulmer’s previous experiences of support structures in the United Kingdom, this article highlights the need for support roles to be better understood as infrastructurally integral to the evolving culture of disability arts in Canada.