Disability Artivism Across the Flyover Provinces is an opportunity to name prairie-based contributions to the global disability arts movement. From within the walls of institutions to center stage, disabled people have always made art. However, the past 50 years have been a time of growing momentum for disability art and culture in Canada, as demonstrated by the Canada Council’s recent attention to crip aesthetics. We are witnessing a quiet politicization of disability art across the prairies, where disabled artists are building artivist (art + activist) communities through gestures of interdependence, crip aesthetics, and disability justice. These communities create diverse, multiple representations of disability that include traditional ways of knowing and art connected to treaty lands. Recognizing how this work pushes the boundaries of disability representation, topics of discussion include:

• How does the work of disabled artists disrupt—or crip—normative artistic practices on the prairies?

• What role can organizations play in respecting disabled artists?

• What role does access play in making disability art and activism possible here?

• How can we move toward a model of “solidarity not charity” as we build and fund a strong disability arts community?

• What is the future of disability art and activism on the prairies?

This event is sponsored by the University of Regina University Conference Fund, The Big Sky Centre for Learning and Being Astonished! Inc., the University of Regina Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance, and the University of Regina Faculty of Social Work.