20171204A - Deaf and Disability Arts Research 2018

The Canada Council for the Arts wishes to have greater understanding of the current context of Deaf and disability arts practices in Canada and how the sector has evolved and manifested since 2008 when the Council began to investigate and subsequently support it in a coordinated fashion. Therefore, the Council will commission a research initiative to explore the changes in the sector over the past 10 years.


The research would consist of updating and broadening the 2010 research undertaken by Rose Jacobson and Geoff McMurchy (Focus on Disability and Deaf Arts in Canada). It would include an environmental scan of the Deaf and disability arts sector, in Canada and internationally, its composition, infrastructure and discourse through a mix of primary and secondary research. Deaf and disability arts includes, but is not limited to, Deaf arts, disability arts, mad arts, integrated/mixed ability arts and practices involving artists with intellectual disabilities.

A critical element would be to understand the changes in the sector since the original research and the implementation of the Canada Council's Expanding the Arts strategy.This would include the significant differences in this community across Canada due to language, region (e.g., Quebec or Francophone minority regions, the North) or other demographic / intersectional identifications such as Indigenous Nationhood and cultural diversity. This research is also directly related to the Council's Strategic Plan 2016-21 commitment to strive for equity in support and access for Deaf artists and artists with disabilities.