Colloquium Supports Deaf, Mad, Disability, and Indigenous Dramaturgies 

With support from the Canada Council, an online research colloquium is bringing together Crip and Indigenous dramaturgs from across Canada and the US to deepen their practices.

Promoting cross-pollination and leadership in Crip and Indigenous dramaturgy

Cultural connector mia susan amir organized a colloquium entitled Unsettling Dramaturgy: Crip & Indigenous Process Design in the Studio, on the Stage, and in the Street, which uses the word ‘Crip’ to include those who identify as mad, sick, or disabled, or who are deemed so either medically or by society. Running for 18 months in 2019 and 2020, it is carving out a space for thought leaders working in theatre and dance to amplify Crip and Indigenous dramaturgical practices and leadership at the local, national, and transnational levels.

Dismantling silos for cross-community collaboration

The colloquium is bringing together artists from communities that have been historically excluded from mainstream performance environments and siloed into spaces that tend to prevent cross-community collaboration. The colloquium is dismantling those silos to advance conversations about the confluence of leadership and representation in creation and production—particularly as they relate to Indigenous sovereignty and to Deaf, mad, and disability culture in the arts.