{"id":6300,"date":"2024-07-15T09:43:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T09:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/?page_id=6300"},"modified":"2024-08-01T08:46:56","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T08:46:56","slug":"sync-shorelines-june-2023","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/programmes\/sync-shorelines-june-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Sync Shorelines – June 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sync Shorelines was a part of Sync Summer Sessions in Canada, hosted at Tangled Arts+ Disability in Toronto and was a small gathering of blind and low vision Sync leaders and associates working with podcast producer Yousef Kadoura of Crip Times <\/a>podcast acclaim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sync Shorelines was an important first step in sharing these leader’s vital points of view as generative, powerful perspectives for all. The word ‘shorelines’ is understood to be a physical element that a person who is blind or has low vision can use as a directional aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recording Sync Shorelines at Tangled Arts+Disability<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Alex Bulmer in conversation with Dr Jess Watkin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Working with Alex Bulmer and Ingrid Palmer from Sync Ontario, 2020 and joined by Dr Jess Watkin. The podcast touches on facets of blind and low vision leadership including the place of fear in leadership and the natural solutions in performance co-inciding with the premiere of Alex’s new play ‘Perceptual Archaelology, (or how to travel blind)<\/a> at Crows Theatre, Toronto, Summer 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As artists and leaders who are Blind or have low vision, how does our way of moving and travelling inform our artistic practice, our leadership and our sense of belonging to community. Is a \u201cshoreline\u201d or boundary a limitation or a new direction?   Does how we move have any impact on how we communicate, lead, create or think?<\/p>\nAlex Bulmer<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Podcast Sync Shorelines produced by Yousef Kadoura<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Listen to the podcast<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Read the transcript<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Transcript<\/summary>\n

Sync is a disabled-led leadership and coaching programme working globally with deaf, disabled and neurodivergent arts and culture leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m Sarah Pickthall, and I co-founded Sync alongside Jo Verrent in 2008. We both experienced the need to break through the glass ceilings of discrimination and opportunity and lead the way in our cultural lives. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

15 years on, we\u2019re still shaping our own futures and those of others. In 2020, with the support of David Bobier of Vibra Fusion Lab and Canada Council for the Arts, we secured development resources to roll out Sync in Canada. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic meant we had to do this online. So since then, we have run three online intensive courses and staged international coaching exchanges with Sync in the UK, Sync in Australia, and some creative exploratives too. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, fast forward to June 2023: I\u2019m here live in person in Canada, helming a series of face-to-face Sync summer sessions with brilliant Sync folk and other esteemed guests.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we\u2019re at Tangled Art plus Disability in Toronto. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you, Tangled, for hosting us. And we\u2019ll be working alongside the brilliant Yousef Kadoura. And in this podcast, we\u2019re unpacking blind and low vision leadership with guests Alex Bulmer, Ingrid Palmer from Sync, Ontario, and we\u2019re delighted also to be joined by Dr. Jess Watkin: welcome to Sync Shorelines! We\u2019re then going to share this podcast and stage further online conversation with other blind, low vision sync leaders in Canada, Jordan, Palestine, UK and beyond in the next few months. We\u2019re also going to be talking about Alex\u2019s new show. It\u2019s called Perceptual Archaeology: How to travel blind. And it\u2019s a co-production between Fire and Rescue Team and Crows Theatre. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome, esteemed podcasting folks. So, introductions. Alex, can I start with you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. Hi, I\u2019m Alex Bulmer. I\u2019m an actor, writer, theater maker, an educator, I guess. I\u2019ve been at this for over 30 years, and I\u2019m very, very delighted to be here with you today, all of you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingrid. Hi. My name is Ingrid Palmer. I am an author, speaker, sometimes poet, dreamer, all of the above. Lovely to have you with us<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jess hi, I\u2019m Jess Watkin. I am an artist scholar. I finished my PhD last year specifically researching disabled artists and how they make theater and how they\u2019re supported in the way that they make theater. I\u2019m a tactile artist, so I do lots of touch related art. I\u2019m a dramaturg specifically focusing on disability politics and blind dramaturgy. And I\u2019m really happy to be here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So welcome, all. We decided to call this gathering and frame it Sync Shorelines. Alex, you coined that phrase. What was the thinking behind that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Alex) Yeah, I suppose I\u2019ve been recently very inspired by the notion of travel and movement through space. It\u2019s been sort of the focus of both of the shows that I\u2019ve created in the last five years, and I am really fascinated by how movement informs the way that we communicate, the way that we think, the way that we belong in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as a blind person who has moved through the world using both a guide dog and a cane, I became very interested in how both of these create a very, very different sense of relationship to space and in the case of being a cane user, I use my cane to identify what are called shorelines, which are basically the sort of the parameters of the space that we\u2019re walking through. So the boundaries \u2013 you use those boundaries to give you directions and we think of boundaries often as some walls or barriers but in actual fact for when you\u2019re using your cane those boundaries are actually what give you directions through space. As a guide dog user shorelines are actually what the dog is moving you between, so you become a person who is moving in a space that I would refer to as an in-between space or a gap. I\u2019m very interested in gaps, and how gaps inform leadership, so that\u2019s why I like the idea of calling this Sync Shorelines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So like Sync is about the mesh between coaching and leadership. Sync is about coaching and leadership. A question for you all well, what does it take to lead being blind or having low vision? Ingrid?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Ingrid) It takes boldness to lead blind. It\u2019s being willing to go into the unknown, to the dark spaces and leap. Take a chance. It definitely takes being able to connect in different ways from what the norm is. And so not being visual and not having the ability to read someone else\u2019s face, or to read their body language, and to take notes from that on how to proceed in you know, building a relationship or a connection as a blind leader, it really takes making strong use of your other senses. Active listening is incredibly important, listening to the words that are used, how they\u2019re used, what\u2019s stressed what isn\u2019t, you know, noticing where there\u2019s tension, what has been left unsaid, and taking all that information in order to use that to build a relationship with someone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Jess) It\u2019s interesting for me to really think about blindness in relation to leadership because I feel like for me, it\u2019s always been a bit of a natural progression of being this, I\u2019ve been only been blind for the past 15 years. But it feels like you know, I started graduate school I started teaching as a blind person. So, I\u2019ve never known it as a sighted person, and having students ask me questions. I was teaching an acting class and having students be like, how can you mark my face if you can\u2019t see it? And I said, Watch me! That\u2019s  a me problem, not a you problem. And I figured it out. I won\u2019t go into that now, but I feel like it\u2019s just been one of those things that for me, vulnerability has really led me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I currently started a new job at the Stratford Festival here in Canada. It\u2019s the largest Repertory Theatre Festival in Canada. And my colleague said to me, reflected back to me, he said, you deal with your blindness, the way that you consider who you are and your identity as a blind person with reverence; I\u2019d never been offered that before. That I had been so reverent in the way that I steward disability inside spaces. And I think I would offer that as a part of my vulnerability, that I, you know, in order to open up a space I go, hi, I\u2019m Jess and I can\u2019t see and this is what I need from you in order for us to be here together. And I find that for me, that vulnerability comes out as an invitation for other folks who I\u2019m encountering to open up and turn towards me and see me \u2013 pun intended or not. And I think that, for me, it\u2019s really been a labour of understanding where that vulnerability serves me, and where I\u2019m manipulating it to try and get something you know? Because I\u2019m a leader and I\u2019m like, ah, if I\u2019m vulnerable here, other people will be vulnerable and so, for me, it\u2019s been a real tug and pull, a learning labour of love of really understanding where that vulnerability can be used in a really beautiful way in relationship to other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so that\u2019s been big for me and in similar ways to Ingrid like, the practicality of being a leader who is blind \u2013 the expectations around looking towards the leader in the room. Again, going back to teaching safety stuff: if I\u2019m teaching an acting class, or if I\u2019m teaching students in general, there\u2019s an expectation that the teacher is going to be able to deal with anything that comes up and I have to really invite a vulnerability and an interdependence in my classrooms and in the spaces that I hold. I think, through that work as the leader, it allows people to learn in a different way and encounter my blindness and disability in a different way. And I found it\u2019s really beautiful to watch people learn through those moments. So, I find vulnerabilities a big part of my blind leadership journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you. Alex?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Alex) Yeah, I mean, I have to say the word that first came into my mind was vulnerability as well. And I think Jess has really captured it. And so, I guess the other thing I may add is something around time \u2013 and again, I guess this comes back to this idea of a gap. I think one of the things that I\u2019ve learned over the years is that it takes time to gather information, to gather an understanding of let\u2019s say, who\u2019s in the room if we\u2019re talking about a creative space, or even if we\u2019re just talking about coming up with an idea to take forward?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel that I need to give myself permission to take the time that I need in order to really understand the complexity of the community and maybe have conversations that will inform me to then take that, that step forward. And I think the time needed to make those decisions about moving forward, and also to give myself the time to embrace whatever that step forward may be, whatever the impact that it has. And you know, there are successes and failures.. or I\u2019ve never really been comfortable with the word failure but successes and not successes I will say, and also taking the time to learn from them. So, there\u2019s something about time and giving yourself time to rest and giving yourself time to celebrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you. I\u2019m just really interested in something we\u2019ve be spoken about, connection.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connection \u2013 what is it for you and how you create connection, as you lead in whatever spaces you inhabit \u2013 performative spaces or instructional teaching spaces. How is that for you? And also that sense of connection but also control. And your need to know more about what\u2019s going on, or your need to have things relayed on your terms more, just so that you get more context so that you can do the things that you\u2019re setting out to do.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Ingrid) For me, especially when I am on stage and engaging with the audience it\u2019s really important for me to keep that connection between ourselves like really tight and real and tangible. So, I like to bring noisemakers, I\u2019ll bring little horns or little coppers. And I\u2019ll hand them out to the audience and I\u2019ll say, you know, when I\u2019m speaking you know \u2013 as I speak, and as I share vulnerability \u2013 (make a noise!) because as we spoke about with vulnerability, how when you\u2019re opening yourself up in a vulnerable way that also invites people and gives permission like, oh, I can be vulnerable too. I can share too. Because we\u2019re so used to hiding our vulnerability out of fear of being judged so when we start out by opening ourselves up, then that just invites that in, that initial connection. And then for me, being able to hear the audience is super important. And so, I always invite whooping, hollering using those noisemakers, snapping even as a way to let me know that, you know, we\u2019re resonating. We\u2019re in tune. You know, you\u2019re here with me. Because my relationship with silences is really tricky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, I\u2019ve interpreted songs as I\u2019ve envisioned, oh, everyone\u2019s falling asleep, therefore, and maybe they\u2019ve even left and I\u2019m just here speaking to myself. And so, it\u2019s really important for me to use noise, use sound, as a connection to know that we\u2019re still journeying together here, that I\u2019m not by myself, that I haven\u2019t lost anyone. And so, I\u2019m inviting people to make noise even while I\u2019m speaking into it. You know, encourage that! You\u2019re not detracting from what I\u2019m saying \u2013 you\u2019re actually adding to it \u2013 we\u2019re in this experience together. And you know, this isn\u2019t just about you sitting here watching and listening to me, but about us, communicating back and forth together, whether it\u2019s words or sounds, so I love having that relationship that way. And I feel like it\u2019s also a real relief to audiences, who so often, I think, feel that their role is to be quiet and to not engage so to actively invite them to engage with you while you are sharing. I think really forms a really good bond, that kind of just releases any tension about how you can interact with one another and what\u2019s respectful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I find that around disability people are always really nervous about what they can do or can\u2019t do or say or, or can\u2019t say, and just being able to relieve that tension and say, just interact, just engage with me. It\u2019s okay. We\u2019ll you know, we\u2019ll work everything out. We\u2019ll communicate and understand each other through that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex \u2013 can you talk about connection in the performance work that you\u2019re doing in Perceptual Archaeology?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Alex) I mean, what Ingrid just said is spot on and, in Perceptual Archaeology, I use applause a lot of the time to give myself orientation in the space which is also a really fun thing to do, because a plus is also considered when you ask for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very cheeky because it\u2019s about yay, they love me! Oh, there you are audience. I\u2019ve got my back to you so I\u2019ll just turn around. I mean, it\u2019s a really, I absolutely love doing that. And it is very cheeky, and also using this notion of \u2018boo\u2019 \u2018yay\u2019, which again, is both a theatrical way of saying boo, you know, I don\u2019t like the show, or yay, I love the show. But I also use it as a form of orientation to the space so I think I like having fun with those things and theatricalising my access needs is something that I just find really exciting and joyful about the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I think what Ingrid is saying too, about you know, inviting the audience to snap your fingers or this idea of you know, breaking this, this idea that audiences are meant to be quiet, you know, listen to your every word, I think. I think that\u2019s a great way to also melt that sense of, \u201coh, I must show reverent respect for the disabled person on stage\u201d and it really makes me think, too, about the challenge of comedy. You know, there\u2019s a lot of humour in perceptual archaeology. And the couple of times that I\u2019ve used humour in a show that centers on disability \u2013 I remember doing assisted suicide the musical with Liz Carr \u2013 and the challenge of humor for audiences who haven\u2019t really exposed themselves to a story about disability before. Like some audiences just do not think they\u2019re allowed to laugh, or you get the opposite: they laugh at like, all sorts of things (and) you can just tell they\u2019re just so nervous. So yeah, I think bringing comedy in front of an audience that isn\u2019t familiar with disability in theater \u2013 you just, you do not know whether or not it\u2019s going to connect but I love using comedy because I think it really disrupts that sense of, you know, the delicacy of being disabled, and it dissipates fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I wanted to ask you about fear in blind and low vision leadership as well. The role of it, because of the techniques that you\u2019re describing both Ingrid in your performance and speaking work and Alex and this extraordinary new work, it sort of makes people feel less fearful, but what is the role of fear in your leadership? Is it something that you have to manage and quash and work with in quite a difficult way? Or is it something that you use to harness other things to give you energy or insight? Tell me about fear.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Ingrid) I\u2019ve definitely had to change my relationship with fear over the years. Previously, fear was something that controlled me and contained me under the guise of safety \u2013 but there was a really fine line there that kept me from, you know, trying new things and putting myself out there because what if something happens? What if you\u2019re not successful, or what if it\u2019s not received well? And then there was also this duality because I live my life in fear, and I go outside. I don\u2019t, you know, I have to push through fear to go, to go about my life to do things because, you know, I don\u2019t see things the way that other people do. And so I have to always be moving through the space of not really knowing. And so, having to do that, and I think over the years of having, changing my relationship with fear, in terms of like, fear is something that signifies danger. And scary, as you know, (but) I\u2019m realizing that when I\u2019m excited, it actually feels the same. I have the same butterflies. I have. My heart is quickening. So maybe it isn\u2019t a danger signal, maybe it\u2019s excitement that\u2019s actually meant to push me forward and not to hold me back. And so, you know, being able to change that perception of that. I just need to be aware of that perhaps and it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean stop. But it can also mean to go. It\u2019s really helped me to be bold, to bring my imaginings to reality, and to stop just focusing on negativity and what could possibly go wrong because there\u2019s so much that can also go right. And I think being able to welcome fear and to hold it even closer instead of pushing it back, to be able to leap at the same time is why it\u2019s important, so I don\u2019t try to get rid of fear anymore, not to see fear as my enemy but to actually embrace fear and to recognize that fear is not necessarily a negative or a stop sign, that it can actually be an energy \u2013 as you said \u2013 to harness and to fuel your actions and it can be \u201coh my god, let\u2019s do this!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you. Yes, I mean, Alex \u2013 from the show a line that just has resonated with me \u2013 is \u201cfear keeping me safe, or keeping me stuck\u201d Where is fear for you, how do you work with fear?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Alex) Yeah, I find it extremely useful. But I\u2019ve had to learn how to negotiate with my fear. And, in a sense, make a kind of an agreement with it in terms of okay, how much fear do I need in order to do this task, even if it\u2019s as simple as walking to the shops on my local Parliament Street? Because there\u2019s danger. There are cars. There are people who often grab me, call out to me. And if you don\u2019t negotiate with fear then you are always, or I will always be, shocked and possibly disappointed \u2013 or put into a position of never wanting to go out again. If I use fear, almost like a little something in my back pocket, you know, not my full clothing you know, it\u2019s not covering my whole body. It\u2019s not all my clothes, it\u2019s in my back pocket!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it is there and I think about it and it can pull it out. And it is there to protect me because I can think of fear as yeah, as a form of protection. It prepares me and if I don\u2019t need it, then it\u2019s in my back pocket, it\u2019s not in my front pockets, it\u2019s in my back pocket. So, it doesn\u2019t prevent me but it prepares me, and I just think it\u2019s something that as a blind person I have to negotiate every day. But it has taken a long time for me to understand that I don\u2019t want it to keep me stuck. And I don\u2019t also want it to keep me completely safe! There\u2019s something in between. And I think having it in my back pocket enables me to become more competent, more forward moving, it keeps me having a future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s great. Also, I think in the Q&A yesterday at Crows Theater, one of your previews, you shared with the audience, the decision you\u2019ve made to have a line reader, to have Enzo reading your lines. And we were talking about that afterwards and the fear of forgetting lines. You just didn\u2019t want to be in that space of having to think about remembering all the lines; in a show of an hour and a half in length, you\u2019re the key protagonist in that, holding that, and having made a decision I\u2019m not going to feel fearful about that. So, I\u2019m going to make a decision and build this into the way that the play works \u2013 and it worked so well. Can you say a little bit about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Alex) Yeah, I just knew that I would have a level of anxiety that I couldn\u2019t cope with if I had to know all those lines, and orient myself in the space you know, and also embrace the disconnect with the audience, which is bound to happen and it happens a number of times throughout the show where I suddenly don\u2019t know where I am and where the audience is. And I just can\u2019t, and why should I? Why do I need to put myself through that? Even though that is one of those sorts of supposed expectations of being a performer that you know your lines, it\u2019s like well, not gonna! I don\u2019t want to! And taking that off my plate was a huge relief like \u2013 I have so much fun. I feel so free not having to remember my lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had to learn how to connect with the text. You know, it\u2019s not like I\u2019m not performing the text I am, and it\u2019s delivered to me in my ear in a very neutral way. It\u2019s not \u2013 he\u2019s not performing it in my ear, he\u2019s reading. He\u2019s just reading my lines the way that, you know, you would have a script in front of you. But then it just becomes this fabulous interdependence between me and the line feeder which is so much about my life as a blind person like it just, it is so much about the show. Interdependence is so much about the show. And listening is so much about the show. So, it just makes so much sense. But yeah, it came from fear \u2013 and what a great thing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jess, can you talk more about interdependence in the show within your role as disability dramaturg?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Jess) Yeah, I feel like, it\u2019s so interesting because when you know, like I\u2019m very familiar with interdependence as a concept which for the sake of this, I can maybe briefly sum up which is there\u2019s this pervading kind of colonial, patriarchal, racist idea around independence that we all are going to like, grow up, be adults and do this whole life thing on our own. And then there\u2019s these wonderful disabled folks who are like, hey, nobody does anything alone! And it\u2019s a farce, it\u2019s completely a lie that we do anything really independently. But it\u2019s been incredible.  Disabled folks who\u2019ve really developed this idea that we can be stronger if we rely on one another, like why not? And so, watching, I mean, through this process, we\u2019ve had a few creative enablers, or line feeders, who\u2019ve come in and out with working with Alex and watching someone learn how to provide that neutral line feeding, how to support Alex, how to anticipate her needs: it\u2019s been really a beautiful lesson in interdependence. Just watching the process. And this is something I think about a lot in terms of disability performance and disability arts \u2013 that a lot of the care and interdependence is actually not always obviously a part of the artistic experience. A lot of it is embedded within the frameworks and the relationships of the show. So, for example, you were just talking, Alex, about, you know, how Enzo delivers your lines neutrally. The audience doesn\u2019t know that, right? And so, it\u2019s really these intimate moments between you two that so like, in preview one I think, or maybe it was a dress rehearsal, I was sitting right beside Enzo so I could hear his line feed, what he was saying to Alex. I could hear it as a blind person. I got sonic hearing, and it was the first time I\u2019d heard him and I hope you don\u2019t mind me sharing this Alex, I think you say it in the show. He was describing where Alex was in relation to the space as well as line feeding into her line feeding mic. So he was saying, line line line line line line, okay Alex you\u2019 re close to the sofa turn a little bit to the right, okay, yep, you got it, line line line line line. And I never heard that before. And I started to cry. It was the most beautiful moment. I honestly I thought to myself I\u2019m gonna write about this because it\u2019s just this I was like, this is where you should watch the show! Because Enzo, line feeder becomes another character for me. He becomes this interdependence of him going and he\u2019s so like, you did it. Okay, great line line line, line. You know, it\u2019s this implicit support and love and care that he has, and also knowing that your relationship has just been developing and so it\u2019s, for me, a really palpable idea of interdependence that is kind of a secret in the show. We\u2019re all curious about it, exactly. So curious about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingrid and I were talking about it yesterday, but that beautiful moment where you hand over to Enzo and say look, I\u2019m tired, I need to rest and you take over Enzo and then suddenly you take it back. That\u2019s enough. You know, and we\u2019re talking about how rarely that happens. So, if you hand over and that\u2019s it, you\u2019re done. You\u2019ve had your moment and you can\u2019t ask for it back. And to see that on stage was just it was so remarkable, talk about the sort of tears welling, something shifting inside you to see that as part of the performance was wonderful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was beautiful for me listening and hearing that and also, it was just the modelling of it. For others who still don\u2019t understand that concept of interdependence, and also that it doesn\u2019t just apply to persons with disabilities, like as you were saying, just that none of us do anything alone you know, this independence thing and like you said, it\u2019s a complete farce, but the modelling of it and the modelling in the way to did it like I\u2019m onside with you and there\u2019s what\u2019s the word? There\u2019s no hierarchy there, right? That\u2019s what we want to see. That\u2019s how it should be. It was just beautiful. Like my, my heart! I didn\u2019t see it \u2013 I heard it. I felt it. And it was just, YES! This is what independence is. And the dignity within that that\u2019s maintained. Alex\u2019s dignity was never injured, and that\u2019s what we want to see. And that\u2019s the reality sometimes out there in the big world, for disabled people where we are not afforded the same rights as everyone else. You know, if we express fatigue, you know, it\u2019s a sign of you can\u2019t handle it\u2026 Oh, yeah, lord. We\u2019re all fatigued at some time. Like, let me take over for a bit and let me just support you for a bit, you know, whenever we express our need, it\u2019s somehow reinterpreted as oh, gosh, I guess you just can\u2019t do it. I guess you just can\u2019t handle it. Which is not the truth and not the reality of anybody. But there\u2019s so much that in our lives as persons with disabilities that we are not allowed to have, and to express \u2013 to briefly relinquish and then take back \u2013 and then to see it so exquisitely modelled for everyone in the play and the relationship between Alex and Enzo yesterday was just beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex is smiling!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Alex) It is I mean, we had a talk back yesterday, which you were at, and when Enzo made the comment that we just kept trying to make each other laugh? Oh, I just loved it when he said that because I thought, wow, it\u2019s true! And that\u2019s to do with two people. Right? Two artists. With huge respect for each other. And that\u2019s it. That\u2019s all we tried to make each other laugh and I just thought that isn\u2019t me like he didn\u2019t say, you know, I was really conscious of Alex\u2019s safety and working with a blind lady. I just I felt so honored. We tried to make each other laugh and I thought that he couldn\u2019t have said a better thing like that. Just said it all to me that we tried to make each other laugh. And he also talked about getting in rhythm. You know, finding a rhythm together, which I thought was wonderful. And you know that really was so moving once we had that rhythm, and it really takes time because he\u2019s got to listen to every shift, every pause, you know, because it\u2019s live so it\u2019s different every night. And I have to also really get in tune with his vocality is if it\u2019s my voice in my head. You know, it\u2019s truly a remarkable thing when it finally becomes like my voice in my own head. And I become, in a sense for him, his way of breathing. So, it\u2019s really quite extraordinary. Because he has to breathe with me. That\u2019s kind of what it is \u2013  the rhythm of breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Jess) And that\u2019s a big part of the show, too. I mean, we\u2019ve talked about that a lot, where there\u2019s lots of moments where you\u2019re connecting to your breath in the show, and how that grounds you within your body. And that\u2019s something that we talked a lot about in terms of travel and in terms of how we find place is breath, so it doesn\u2019t surprise me that you and Enzo line feed and find that really grounding throughout the show-  that the breath is another grounding heartbeat for both of you to connect, both to one another through a tiny little headset. You know, like that\u2019s incredible<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, so we\u2019ve talked about vulnerability, and fear and interdependence as part of the things that are harnessed within blind leadership. And leadership so often that, context is blindness, blind spots in leadership, theory and practice are negatives, but all I can hear and feel and experience together is this: the positives within this, and how we\u2019re harnessing these things to great effect. I can only feel the positives and potential for leading in leadership. For others also, maybe send final thoughts on what our lived experiences can offer arts and culture moving forward. Alex?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Alex) I just think maybe call the blind spots your closet, right? Like, go into your closet, all the things you have felt, you have to hide. They are your gold, that is your power. So, if you need someone to line feed for you in order to be in a rehearsal with a new script, or any script -doesn\u2019t matter, like when I did R and J, I had to have a line feeder. It\u2019s like, oh, right, that that person is supposedly, you know, over in the corner and hidden, put them right out, put all that stuff that one may think should be in the closet or should be in the corner -pull that out and put that front and center. That\u2019s what I keep learning \u2013 that\u2019s your riches. Those are your riches. You know so go into your closet. Find your riches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Jess) Oh, I was gonna say curiosity, and I think that\u2019s very similar to what Alex Bulmer just said, but maybe what I\u2019ll offer is to any leader, disabled or not blind, or anyone really. A big key tenent of our working practices for the show for the past five wait, \u2013 how long have we been doing this? A while! \u2013 has been grace. And specifically, for us in the room looking at each other and going we\u2019re gonna give each other grace for the way that we\u2019re learning. The way that we\u2019re showing up, the kind of energy we show up with every day. And I think that what Alex is talking about \u2013 facing parts that are tough to move through, that you\u2019re curious about, that you want to hide and you have an instinct to move away from. It takes courage to do those things. And so I think maybe my final thought here is that a big part of my practice has been grace, and giving people the opportunity, space and compassion to figure things out, and completely acknowledging that everyone\u2019s on a journey. I like to be the supportive disabled person in a room. To be like, you can ask me the weird, awful questions you don\u2019t want to ask anybody else because you\u2019re embarrassed or whatever, because I will offer you grace in your learning. And I wish for folks to offer that to me, whatever learning I am trying to move through and so I offer that to everyone. Some grace. Give yourself grace in what you do not know, and what you\u2019re still encountering. That is new. Give yourself grace when you make a mistake, and you\u2019re relearning something. We\u2019re all human. And I think that that has been a really big learning from this work for me \u2013 applying that grace to others and also to myself beautiful<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Ingrid) All of that! All of that! Yes, exactly. The blind spots, as Alex said, are where the riches are. That\u2019s where the gold is, you know.  And we have just been so conditioned to put our riches away in the closet, as Alex would say, because they don\u2019t fit into that round hole or they don\u2019t sparkle on the right side, and other people want it sparkling on the left. But to really, you know, learn to value those things that we have been taught that we shouldn\u2019t! To bring them out into the open and be willing to polish them off and show them off and stop putting a cloak over them. Because really, that is where the gold is. That\u2019s where the rich learning is. And we have so much unlearning to do, that if we really practice the grace that Jess has spoken about, and harness that fear that we spoke about in a different way. And all of us will go into our closets and bring out our hidden treasures that we were afraid to show before and put them front and center and hand them out and let everybody else handle them and feel them, and build relationship with them as well. But if we can just be able to really love and accept all the parts of ourselves that make ourselves ask. Because one thing I\u2019ve learned you know, the inclusion that I sought for so long in my life began actually with me! And that once I could embrace everything that made myself me, and see it in a positive light and not see disability as something negative and blindness like this side story that I live through, but to find joy in that and the learning in that and the pleasure in that. It gives permission for everyone else to do the same. So, we can all start by including ourselves and including every part of ourselves. Then that resonates outward and gives everyone else permission to do the same. And then all of us will be able to bring our whole selves and to enjoy each other\u2019s beauty and uniqueness. That\u2019s the world that I\u2019m pushing for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s to that and without apology. Without apology.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingrid, Alex, Jess, thank you so much for this wonderful conversationThank yo<\/strong>uSync would like to thank Tangled Arts plus Disability, Vibrafusion lab, Canada Council for the Arts. For more information about Sync go to www.Syncleadership.com<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sync Shorelines was a part of Sync Summer Sessions in Canada, hosted at Tangled Arts+ Disability in Toronto and was a small gathering of blind and low vision Sync leaders and associates working with podcast producer Yousef Kadoura of Crip Times podcast acclaim. Sync Shorelines was an important first step in sharing these leader’s vital… Read more »<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"parent":462,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"programme-area":[123],"class_list":["post-6300","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"title_on_page":"","programme_area":123,"si_display_mode":"Past"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6300"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9264,"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6300\/revisions\/9264"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/462"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"programme-area","href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/programme-area\/123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"programme-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syncleadership.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/programme-area?post=6300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}