Having the right to belong, that isn’t enough. We need spaces where we can feel good and recovered. We need spaces where we can flourish and contribute. During our congress we have attempted to create this space. In hotel CASA DSiN found a welcoming space. With creative and inspiring workshops, we want to give access to knowledge to everyone through word, image, voice, music, dance, film, and meetings. How important this is, is beautifully addressed by Prof. Tobias Büchner in this video. There weren’t just creative workshops, there was also a cultural programme designed by DSiN. This programme was accessible to everyone and contained multiple exhibitions/presentations:
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United by music, All star band sang the Blues for us!
Sometimes, the music was calm but sometimes the music was intense and present. For some people, it was therefore important to be notified, to be able to take enough distance, and to not have to be engulfed. For people with auditory disabilities you should have a sign language interpreter translate the lyrics simulaneously, or project the lyrics, or let the rhythm dance live. This have to be preparated thoroughly and the songs need to be known with the interpreters beforehand. With the All star band this last point is not evident because they like to decide their songs to play on the spot, depending on the atmosphere and reactions from the audience. What works for one, might not work for the other. Discussing this thoroughly beforehand is worth its weight in gold. The musicians weren’t just present on stage but they were also able to attend the full program of the congress. United by Music is a live band that in the moment – dependant on the atmosphere and mood- decides which songs they play. Suppose that the band does decide beforehand what to play, you can let ‘sign dancers’ translate on stage, with both hand gestures and rhythmic dance. At Sencity 2018 – organised by Possibilize – we saw fantastic sign dancers working. We’ll let you enjoy it in this video for a moment.
www.unitedbymusic.nl -
Michel. Actor loses the words. Film
Michel van Dousselaere (Gent, 1948) is an actor. In 2014 a rare type of aphasia was discovered in him, a brain condition that affects the speech centre. In the documentary Michel you can see how he manages the loss of his words and of his craft that he has practiced for so long. On our congress a 30 minute preview (english subtitled) was shown in attendance of the actor and the filmmakers. Here you can find more information about the film. This calm and intimate moment on our congress was very appreciated by our attendees. The audience left the room emotionally. With image, sound, and subtitles, the film was accessible for many.
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Robin Hood, Brother Tuck, back to the forest? Theater, live performance in the Drawing lab
Jan Troost & his companions want to be at home amidst society. They work for good education, a good home, work, healthcare, privacy,… in society, for people with a disability, for everyone. On our congress Robin Hood and Brother Tuck welcome the people and show the way to the support bar: the bar where everyone can hang, have a talk, or ask for help. Robin Hood and Brother Tuck offered the guests a spot in the Drawing Lab as well, where you can draw and talk in peace about: what makes it that you feel at home here or somewhere else? What is ‘belonging’ to you? You can read more about the experiences of Jan Troost on his blog.
www.terugnaardebossen.nl -
The Drawing Lab that we established on our congress is inspired from the drawing lab as a research method, designed by Sofie Sergeant. It gives the possibility to people to express themselves differently than through words. This way we receive experience stories that we otherwise wouldn’t or more difficulty could discover. In this stop motion clip you can get an idea as to how the Drawing Lab is organised and why.
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I am, so i belong
Margriet van Kampenhout delivered during the congress dinner her live performance about the art of ‘belonging’ by people who dare to be themselves. In this video Margriet talks about her addition to our congress and about the contents of her story she told us. The story of Margriet was recited in English. This story is filmed by Jan Troost and watchable here. By clicking on the bar below the video, you can see english subtitles. Here you can watch the video with dutch subtitles. For people who couldn’t speak english very well there was a paper version of the text in dutch. There was a paper version of the text in english as well for people with an auditive disability.
www.argentaconsult.nl -
The traveler and the reproduction
Belgian artist Saar De Buysere researched new techniques and works with non-evident materials. As a city planner or architect she brings different elements together. This way something of an ideal surrounding, a place where you can feel at home originates, that gives off relaxation. The exhibition with the works of Saar De Buysere was to be admired during our congress at the hotel CASA. Even after the congress the hotel put the works up for exhibition during the months of January and Febuary 2018.
For DSiN De Buysere designed the trees that give structure and image to the study- and lesson materials on the website of DSiN. Every month the Kennisplein Gehandicaptensector puts the spotlight on one of our trees, so that the wide audience can enjoy them as well. Here you can find the overview of the series on the Kennisplein.
Based on the trees of Saar De Buysere René Krewinkel (www.krewinkelkrijst.nl) made the DSiN-cartoon series ‘Mixed Forest’. The trees and the cartoons were exhibitioned during the congress. With images we want to clarify the themes connected to the area Disability Studies via image to a wide audience. The images and cartoons appeal many and are low threshold and funny.
www.saardebuysere.blogspot.com