The end result: a new beginning

What initially began with more doubts and questions about the purpose of it all ended with a realization that this indeed was a new beginning. The beginning of new friendships and connections. The beginning of a new outlook on the future of our arts/culture ecosystem when it came to supporting artists living with developmental disabilities. And the beginning of a movement to disrupt our arts/culture scene by advocating for equitable opportunities for our artist community.

The feedback received from our delegates was overwhelmingly positive. Here is some additional feedback received from our in-person delegates in Vancouver and Banff:

“I thought the conference was well put together, topics, flow. I wasn’t sure how it’d work out with remoting in to the Banff group for some joint pieces and then back on Vancouver group only, but with the odd minor tech issue, it worked out well. I thought the conference was a good “Beginning.” I would like to see how/action plan how we could form better partnerships and work together for projects/ make some momentum forward in some action priorities together.” The conference had some really great moments, and I thought it was a meaningful opportunity for folks from organizations with varied approaches to this work to learn from one another and plant the seeds for collaboration.

I think it went over very well—a great start to an important conversation. It also got us excited to think about what more we might be able to do locally. Meeting you and the Banff team presents all kinds of partnering and learning opportunities. Thanks for the vision and for making it happen (I’m hoping to get there for a field trip one of these days!).

Fantastic event! I appreciated the creativity and movement breaks, and loved the varying perspectives and voices at the table. Thank you for bringing this community together.

I found the conference to be informative and inspiring! I have to say that I was truly rejuvenated, my creative and innovative thoughts and ideas are flowing and I have so many things that I foresee for both Alternatives and Stage Door.

Beginning: A National Conversation was excellent ... keynotes/ presentations were informative and Betty/Daniel/Tom were terrific keynotes ... the local flavour with Theatre Terrific/ArtBrain was interesting and fun ... enjoyed the opportunity to listen, discuss, share, network, participate, be creative ... and the back and forth between the venues worked well ... it was organized and there was a good flow between activities. International/ National/Local perspectives and the differing thoughts on Arts & Disability (Centering/Decentering/Access).