INTENTIONAL
GATHERINGS
Connor is a young white male with a neatly trimmed beard, buzzed head, and glasses. He wears a dark purple t-shirt and sits at a round dark green table. On the wall behind him to his right are two framed illustrations, one of Inuit imagery and one of a wintery urban scene.
Between September 2024 and June 2025, we will host a series of community consultations called Intentional Gatherings. These will bring together six stakeholder groups in an open discussion to imagine what a vibrant and sustainable Deaf arts ecology looks like, and what specific role The Invisible Practice can take in making this a reality.
The Stakeholders
We come together with the intention to exchange ideas, understand each other better, and build a future for Deaf-centric creativity that we all hold in common. Our themes will broadly touch upon these four considerations:
What does the community need from a Deaf arts organization?
What does our common creative future look like?
How will we get there?
In all of this, how do we honour our kinship with each other?
These discussions will form our first mandate. That mandate will guide our programming, projects, and productions for the next five to ten years.
This will define The Invisible Practice.
Your desires and priorities will become part of our values story. Rather than a standard list of values that could be printed on a poster, we want to tell the story of TIP through an ever-changing story that centres our kinships.
Connor, a young white man with a neatly trimmed beard, signs in ASL. The background is a soft brown brick wall with two abstract, ink-like illustrations framed and hung. Two windows are on either side, with blinds fully drawn.
Scroll down to see what each Intentional Gathering was like and what some of our community members shared. Keep in mind that some events may not have happened yet. They will be updated regularly as we move through the coming months.
Everyone is welcome at any Intentional Gathering!
We know how busy life gets. Some jobs are more rigidly scheduled than others. Sometimes our energy just doesn’t match our plan that day. We want to make sure you have every opportunity to share your thoughts.
You can join any of the six Intentional Gatherings, and you can attend multiple events. ASL interpretation will be available at all events. You can also request live-streamed captioning by a human captionist, and additional access support such as Deaf Interpretation.
Please join our circle and share your intentions.
We look forward to meeting you!
As part of our commitment to radical transparency, we are documenting the Intentional Gatherings in photos and on video.
We want to recognize the people who make this possible with their talent behind the lenses!
Ebony R. Gooden Videography
Ebony R. Gooden is an emerging filmmaker, artist, and activist, focused on creating safe spaces for BIPOC Deaf artists. As the founder of Silent Soul Studio, she uplifts and supports BIPOC Deaf creatives. Ebony is currently the Marketing Coordinator for Inside Out Theatre. She was featured in SHADES Season 2 by Humainologie and has participated in the CSIF and Storyhive programs to create a short documentary. She is supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts in producing a short animation. Ebony has directed and produced various film projects, including Expression Unmasked and Running Through Her Past.
Nanc Price Photography
Nanc Price (she/her) is an event and live performance photographer. Her work focuses on capturing artistic stories that help promote, educate, enrich, and preserve knowledge of those who live on or visit Treaty No. 6 land. Nanc has worked with over 70 different Edmonton charities, festivals, event, film, and theatre production companies. Her photography credits include Citadel Theatre, Ballet Edmonton, SOUND OFF Deaf Theatre Festival, Alberta Ballet, and Edmonton Opera. On any given evening or weekend, you'll find Nanc behind her lens, exploring Edmonton's thriving artistic and festival communities.
We gratefully recognize Connect Society’s support and expertise in providing accessibility support for DeafBlind participants.
The Intentional Gatherings community consultation series was made possible with generous funding from Canada Council for the Arts’ Sector Innovation and Development program. Thank you, Canada Council!
Once this project has concluded, we will share the final budget breakdown as part of our commitment to radical financial transparency.
