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Our Disability Equality Training Day

Paul Kielty and I (Nadia Kingsley) went to the Hive in Shrewsbury to DASH (Disabled Artists Shropshire) for a day of disability equality training.

Little did we know that we would, by the end of the day, be deeply changed for the better.

A tweet with a photograph of the you tube video on Social Model of DisabilityI think I had heard of the Social Model of Disability but wow. Such a simple explanation – but such profound changes to how we see the world…

It goes like this:

 

 

 

 

This country has lived with and believes in the medical model of Disability for… forever. It says that a person is diagnosed with a disability. That disability is what defines them and what limits them. It is that person’s own individual responsibility to cope day-to-day with their disability.

The social model of Disability says yes – we agree – this person is Disabled. But they are disabled because of society and all the barriers set up against them living/ working/ playing on a level playing field with the people who are described as able-bodied or normal. Think of the kerbs, the lack of ramps, the locked public toilets, the lack of alt text on twitter and other social media and websites which excludes, excludes, excludes.

Anyway SHOW NOT TELL.. here is the youtube video we were shown on the day

We also had a mind-blowing session on ACCESSIBLE DESIGN

My planned private view invitation for our exhibition at Qube gallery in August 2018 needs some changes,

I will make sure I add alt text to any image I include in the PAINTING BY PIXELS project.

But I also want to add it to all the other images on the website, but this will take a little time… (Alt Text is a description of what is in an image. This is obviously important because often half a message is in its visuals, and only half in the accompanying text. It can be invisible, and can be made visible – especially to speaking technology)

 

We chatted, asked questions, and Tanya shared a great warm-up visual exercise which rejuvenated us both before we left the building with new eyes and a new understanding.

 

 

The day was run by the exceptional artist Tanya Raabe-Webber and Carrie Slawinska

Nadia Kingsley

 

 

    

 

 

 

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