by Elise

Colin Hambrook, an artist living with a disability, will be the Heritage Disability Director of “Cripping Culture: A Journey into Arts Heritage.” A research project in the UK, “Cripping Culture” tells the untold stories of the achievements of artists and activists living with disabilities. Cripping, a reclaimed word, applies a disability lens to culture. There are nationwide callouts for volunteers to share their memories about the Disability Arts Movement that will be collected over three years. The exhibit will consist of an accessible digital archive with an interactive timeline and a podcast series from spoken contributions with British Sign Language video versions for the public. The project will preserve the heritage of the Disability Arts Movement and fill in some of the gaps of existing knowledge.

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MOTIVATIE Association

In Moldova, disability rights advocates Felicia Bulmaga, a photographer, and Ludmila Iachim, Executive Director of MOTIVATIE Association, are among women living with disabilities helping other women to become more independent and empowered. Through training programs organized by EU 4 Gender Equality, participants learn about gender-based violence and stereotypes. More women than men live with disabilities. In Armenia, Agate Rights Defense Center for Women with Disabilities, with Gayane Grigoiryan as Program Officer, held discussions in safe space about reproductive and sexual health, gender-based violence, available services and employment opportunities. Internalized barriers also exist, due to continued discrimination, inaccessible spaces and low expectations.

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Sylvain LeMay, disability rights advocate, received the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) National Disability Rights Activism Award. LeMay led the work to remove barriers for people living with disabilities at the University of Quebec at Montreal and all other Canadian post-secondary institutions. He helped create permanent policy changes for more accessibility for students and workers. LeMay was the co-chair for CUPE’s National Persons with Disabilities Committee in the Canadian Labour Congress and the Quebec Federation of Labour. He was Commissioner of the Quebec Human Rights Commission, and now represents paratransit users of the Societe de transport de Montreal.