Showing posts with label disabilities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disabilities. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Abbie Johnson Taylor of Sheridan featured in Maine newspaper article about Behind Our Eyes


Sheridan's Abbie Johnson Taylor, long-time members of Wyoming Writers, Inc., and WyoPoets, is a member of a writers' group with disabilities called Behind Our Eyes. That's also the title of the group's 2007 anthology. Abbie's work is featured in the book. A second volume is in the works.

Today's issue of The Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Maine, has a story about this group and its publishing ventures. It includes some quotes from Abbie, who is the editorial staff of the online magazine Magnets and Ladders:
"We're working on a second anthology as well as the online magazine. Since the group's inception, several of our members, myself included, have published our own books."

FMI: Elisa Busch at 571-257-7355 or glbusch@comcast.net; Bobbie LaChance, 571-795-8999 or e-mail blachance@roadrunner.com. Website: www.freewebs.com/behindoureyes/&

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

People First Language offers humane ways to refer to members of the nation's largest minority group

This article comes from the spring 2011 Wyoming Arts Council Artscapes newsletter set for an April 29 pub date. It was contributed by WAC staffer Marirose Morris. As Arts Access Specialist, Marirose oversees several grant programs and 504/ADA guidelines. Contact her at the WAC at 307-777-7742.
A person’s self-image is tied to the words used about him/her. People First Language was started by individuals who said, “We are not our disabilities!”

People First Language puts the person before the disability, and describes what a person has, not who a person is. Are you “cancerous” or do you have cancer? Is a person “handicapped/disabled” or does he/she “have a disability?” Using a diagnosis as a defining characteristic reflects prejudice, and robs the person of the opportunity to define him/herself.

People with disabilities comprise the nation’s largest minority group. It is also the most inclusive: all ages, genders, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic levels are represented, and anyone can join it, at any time.

Say:
Instead of:
Children/adults with a disability
Handicapped, disabled, special needs
S/he has a cognitive disability
S/he is mentally retarded
S/he has Down syndrome
S/he’s mongoloid/Down’s
S/he has autism
An autistic person
S/he has a learning disability
S/he is learning disabled
S/he is deaf
The deaf
S/he has a speech disorder
Mute
S/he is blind, has a visual impairment
The blind
S/he has epilepsy
An epileptic
S/he uses a wheelchair
Wheelchair bound
S/he walks with a assistive device
A cripple
S/he is a little person
Dwarf or midget
People without disabilities
Normal or healthy people
Accessible parking, hotel rooms, etc.
Handicapped parking, hotel rooms, etc.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Call for entries: VSA & VW exhibition program

VSA & VOLKSWAGEN: EXHIBITION PROGRAM
http://vsarts.org/x5796.xml
Deadline: June 10, 2011. VSA, a program of the Kennedy Center, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., seek submissions from emerging artists with disabilities ages 16–25 for Momentum, a national juried art exhibition on display at the Smithsonian Institution during fall 2011. Fifteen finalists will be selected and will share $60,000 in cash awards.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

"Laramie I am Here"

"Laramie I am Here." Opening Night Reception and The ARK's Cooper Center for Creative Arts.

February 24, 6-8 p.m.

Cooper Center for Creative Arts

Let us be your guide!

Come see Laramie through our eyes as we explore our town through paintings, photographs and drawings. Experience the things that we see and do every day as we live, learn, work, and play in this great community. We have devoted our talents to producing works of art depicting our friends, our families, and ourselves. We will show you our favorite places to go, our favorite things to do, and all of the things that make us a part of this place called Laramie.

FMI: http://www.arkregionalservices.com/

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Temple Grandin at UW: "Animals, Autism and Sensory-Based Thinking"

From a University of Wyoming press release:

A renowned designer of livestock handling facilities and whose life story of overcoming autism is profiled in an Emmy-award winning HBO movie will give two presentations at the University of Wyoming in February.

Professor Temple Grandin of Colorado State University will present "The Field of Animal Sciences" from 2:10-3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, in the College of Arts and Sciences auditorium. Her talk will focus mainly on animals and livestock handling and the innovations she has made in the area of humane livestock handling.

At 3:30 p.m., she will discuss "Animals, Autism, and Sensory-Based Thinking." A question-and-answer session, reception and a book signing will follow.

Her appearance is sponsored by Wyoming AgrAbility, a UW Cooperative Extension Service program, with support from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities in the College of Health Sciences.

"Bringing Grandin to UW will help share and spread the importance of her work," says Kelley Dees, Wyoming AgrAbility project coordinator. "Her livestock handling innovations have revolutionized the way cattle are handled in the United States and in countries abroad. Her animal handling practices not only provide better meat quality, but, when done correctly, prevent the animal from feeling any pain."

Grandin was featured in the 2010 film "Temple Grandin," which received seven Emmys. The film won further notoriety Sunday, Jan. 30, when Claire Danes, who portrayed Grandin in the movie, won the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a TV movie or miniseries.

"The obstacles that Grandin has overcome in her life are simply inspiring," says Dees. "I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with such a brilliant woman who is a hero to so many."

Grandin has designed livestock facilities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, and she speaks around the world on autism and cattle handling. She has consulted for such firms as Burger King and McDonald's.

Call UW Paratransit Services at (307) 766-6686 to request complimentary disability transportation to the event.

Wyoming AgrAbility provides education, networking and assistance to ranchers, farmers and agricultural workers with disabilities and their families. Information is available at www.uwyo.edu/agrability/ or by contacting Dees at AgrAbility@uwyo.edu or (307) 766-3052 or toll-free at (866) 395-4986.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Call for entries: "All Kids Can CREATE!"

From a press release:

On behalf of VSA, The International Organization on Arts and Disability, I would like to invite students, teachers, and parents in Wyoming to take part in an exciting art program – All Kids Can CREATE!

All Kids Can CREATE is an opportunity for students, ages 5 to 15, to submit their artwork as part of a national art search that promotes equal arts opportunities for students of all abilities. Teachers or parents may submit their students’ artwork online, and all artwork submissions will become part of an online exhibition. Two artworks from each state, one artwork by a student with a disability and one artwork by a student without a disability, will be chosen to be part of a national touring exhibition that will open in Washington, D.C. in June, 2011. This call for art is also an opportunity for teachers to receive $1,500 for their classroom!

To learn more about this call for art, please visit www.artsonia.com/allkidscancreate. Here, teachers and parents may submit student’s artwork, read about this year’s theme, as well as learn more about VSA and CVS Caremark All Kids Can. A PDF or printed version of the program information is also available upon request. The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 4, 2011.

I hope you and others in the state of Wyoming will consider this amazing chance to exhibit your students’ work! Feel free to pass on this email and information to other colleagues that may be interested in participating. We want to have a great turn out with great art!

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Kelsey Acers
Kennedy Center Intern
VSA - The International Organization on Arts and Disability
818 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20006
TEL: 202.628.2800
FAX: 202.429.0868
TTY: 202.737.0645
www.vsarts.org
facebook.com/VSAInternational
VSA is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Noted linguistic anthropologist Michael Silverstein addresses UW conference July 1

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming Department of Anthropology's "Language, Culture and History Conference" starts Thursday, July 1, with a keynote talk by Professor Michael Silverstein, MacArthur Award-winning linguistic anthropologist from the University of Chicago.

He will discuss a "hapax legomenon," at 9 a.m. in the College of Education auditorium. Other sessions will be in Room 150 of the Anthropology Building.

The hapax legomenon is a unique textual example in the Northwestern American Indian language of Kiksht, showing how the use of passive construction reflects the unstable world of the Kiksht and colonizing pressures of the early 1900s, Silverstein says.

The conference will feature nearly 30 presenters from the United States, England and Canada talking on issues including Native American narrative and song, histories of colonialism and language use, international language ideologies, Muslim identity and deaf culture.

Silverstein's talk is sponsored by the Wyoming Humanities Council and refreshments afterwards are sponsored by the journal Ethnohistory. Both are free and open to the public.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

"Wind & Wisdom: A Wyoming Story" at the Ark Creative Arts Program in Laramie

Wyoming Governor's Arts Awards winner Ark Creative Arts Program in Laramie will be presenting "Wind & Wisdom: A Wyoming Story" on Friday and Saturday, June 25-26 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 27, at 2 p.m.

If you have attended previous Ark productions, you know how wonderful they are. If you've never attended one, you really should attend at some point - both to see the production, and to see the wonderful Creative Arts Center facilities. They always have a visual arts exhibition in their lobby for each production, too.

Tickets are free, but reservations are essential, as they always run out of seats. Call 307-742-6641 and ask for Bob Sell if you are interested in reserving seats.

Be sure to arrive early, as a reservation does not mean you have a specific seat saved for you. Seating is first come, first served for those with reservations. People who don't show up at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the show lose their seats to others who are on a waiting list, and standing by for seats.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Call for entries: Tonya Jackson Talent Expression Program

The Tonya Jackson Talent Expression Program has announced its first Talent Expression Show.

Artists with a disability, or those recovering from substance abuse, may submit work in any art form --- music, sculpture, painting, poetry, photography, etc. -- by Feb. 1, 2010.

The art exhibition and presentation of prizes will be held March 4, 2010.

FMI: Marcus Jackson, 307-635-3363, imperialmac@hotmail.com or Tammy L. Gamino, 1623 Central Ave., Suite 4, Cheyenne, WY 82001, 307-432-4033, tammy.peoplefirst@bresnan.net.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Hands In Harmony's Gift to Cheyenne -- a free performance


CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCE

December 20, 2009

4:00 p.m.

HANDS IN HARMONY PUBLIC CHRISTMAS SHOW

Central High School Auditorium, 5500 Education Drive, Cheyenne, WY

Free to the public as “Our Gift to the City"

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Ark in Laramie opens new exhibit 12/4

The Ark Creative Arts Program in Laramie, recipient of a Governor's Arts Award, will be having an opening for its new exhibit, "Under the Influence: Painting in New Genres," that includes the work of Ark artists as well as their artist instructors, Joe Arnold and Robert Seabeck. The free event is on Friday, Dec. 4, 6-7:30 p.m., at Ark, 1150 N. 3rd St., Laramie. Both Joe and Bob will be on hand to talk about their work with the Ark artists.

FMI: 307-742-6641

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Essence -- 2010 VSA Arts "Call for Writing"

The VSA arts Call for Writing invites students, ages 11–18 years, to interpret their world through the use of creative writing in the form of short works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Writers may use their own experience for inspiration or base their writings on fictional events. Students submitting writing must have a disability or a connection to people with disabilities.
The selected pieces will become part of the VSA arts online writing journal, Infinite Difference.
All submissions must be submitted by Friday, November 20, 2009.
Entry guidelines and forms: http://www.vsarts.org/x889.xml