Events & Engagement
The Art + Medicine series prides itself on and strives to create community-informed and community-reflected content. For Art + Medicine: Disability, Culture and Creativity, we had a 10 member Advisory Council composed of artists and clinicians, some of whom were disabled and some of whom did not identify with having disabilities. The Advisory Council met six times over a six-month period to explore and provide guidance on the following:
Gaelynn Lea performing “Watch the World Unfold” for Art + Medicine: Disability, Culture and Creativity
• Show topics, including defining and framing chosen topics. • Identifying and selecting racially, ethnically, and ability diverse Twin Cities-based visual and performance artists. • Inclusive language to be used in content, script, and title development. • Narratives and lived experiences within the disabled community that
have been historically excluded in media representations. • Accessibility features to consider in the planning, filming, editing, and broadcasting of the program.
The Advisory Council had challenging, insightful, and productive conversations that resulted in a program featuring 10 disabled artists and clinicians (another 11 disabled artists and clinicians appeared) from diverse communities within the disabilities communities. Another result of the Advisory Council was the inclusion of picture-in-picture American Sign Language throughout the program and the addition of audio description for all broadcast and streaming viewing to increase accessibility.
TPT held a private premiere viewing event for on-screen and behind-the-scenes participants and their friends and family in celebration of the collaboration. Key learnings from the Advisory Council, the private event, and film participants were that expectation setting is always important; when you increase accessibility for one group of people, many more often benefit; and there are many more stories that need to be shared from disabilities communities.
Photo left: Premiere Screening of Art + Medicine: Disability, Culture and Creativity at Twin Cities PBS Photo Credit: Uche Iroegbu
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