art smarts

Chapter 5. Training and Development

Training and development can include many things besides going to art or music school – especially for artists with disabilities, who often do better with alternative forms of learning. It may be learning a new way to deliver a joke after it falls flat, or learning from the people you collaborate with in your performance troupe, or finding out about a different kind of paint. In some art forms, your body is your instrument; for others, you need access to equipment you may not be able to afford.

There are many benefits to attending art classes. Not only will you become more familiar with techniques and materials, but you may be inspired by others’ work, find out more about the art community where you live, and make connections or form a support network. On the other hand, in visual art at least, there is something to be said for not training at all. There is a lot of appreciation for art created by “intuitive”, or self-taught, artists. We’ll discuss that more at the end of this chapter.

As you think about the kind of training you may want to pursue, there are a range of options to consider. Artists learn not just through educational institutions but also from friends or more experienced artists who act as mentors, or through collaborating. In whatever form – and possibly in several different forms – learning continues throughout your life.

If you decide that you want formal training, you can seek this out with an Internet search, if you have a computer, or with a few phone calls to see what’s available in your area. Most colleges and universities have arts programs; many schools are dedicated to one discipline, like theatre or film. If you only want a single or part-time course, school boards often offer continuing education in the arts. Remember to ask, when talking to schools, if there’s a disability coordinator or special needs counsellor who can help you out.

When I went to the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design the first time I was not disabled; when I went back, I was. And there was a disability counsellor who worked toward making sure that the playing field was level. She would make sure that I had extra time if I needed it for an exam. Chronic fatigue makes it so that I can’t actually hand-write. I can for short spurts, but anything longer in duration becomes gobbledygook, so I can’t write essays out in a class. When it’s a test, I would have to have access to a computer. She facilitated that. If I needed an extension for whatever reason, she would facilitate that as well. I don’t know how people with disabilities do it otherwise. I mean, clearly they do. People with disabilities have been getting through college and university forever.
bernadine

When I decided to go to art school, I was living in Michigan, and I decided to go to this little community college in this tiny little town. I did my first year of art school there and only took classes that I wanted to take, and they were all related to sculpture because I didn’t like drawing or painting. They were still really scary for me. It was still a thing that I could fail at, and so I would be absolutely tensed up and just do things that looked like someone who was really tense had done. I did all this sculpture in school for a year and then there were no more sculpture courses to take.

So I moved back to Vancouver and went to Vancouver School of Art, which later became the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. I got in as a second year student on the basis of my previous schooling. At that time at the Vancouver School of Art, all your more academic courses were required in your first year, and then in your second year you still could take art history and design and stuff like that but you didn’t have to. So it was perfect for me, because in my first year of art school I took nothing that required writing papers or taking tests, and then because of the set-up at Vancouver School of Art, I could get into my second year and still not take anything that required writing papers or taking tests!

I went through my entire art school without taking a single academic class and only doing sculpture. That was the way, as a person with a learning disability, that I got through art school. Of course, what I have is an art school certificate, which means that if I wanted to have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree I would have to go to a college and take nothing but academics for two years. That’s not gonna happen. Since then, the only kind of official training I did was a paper-making course. Everything else I’ve learned one-to-one, which is the best way for me to learn.
persimmon

The acting classes I took were through a local community theatre in basic acting. I approached the teachers beforehand and let them know I was wanting to take the course and what my needs were. I didn’t really need much in the way of adaptation; I just needed them to include me in the class, to feel welcomed in the class, and I let them know that there were some things I couldn’t do exactly in the way that they were shown. I’d adapt what they were teaching me. So, in general, I had positive experiences. The teacher was welcoming, did include me in the class, and the fellow students were very supportive. I mean, we all realized that we were in the same boat together, not knowing anything about acting and wanting to become an actor. The courses gave me a foundation of acting that I probably use in my comedy, although I can’t say specifically where or how.
alan

I did an interview for a TV program – the subject was “broken dreams.” And the producer asked to videotape me in the dance studio. And I just said, “OK, yes.” I went to the studio and I felt very strange because I was in my old world, and I felt so sensitive, so sad, to be there. Beginning my interview, I just said, “Dance is finished for me and blah blah blah.” During the interview, behind me, a group of five dancers was doing a routine with their teacher. And the teacher asked me, “Do you want to improvise with us?” And I said, “OK.” And the teacher pushed me into the middle of the studio and she said to me, “Dance if you want, or just stay there and observe.” The improvisation began and I started to move, and I felt very good, with everybody. After the improv, maybe five or ten minutes after, I opened my eyes and I said to myself, ‘”Oh my God – I’m a dancer!” It was a magic moment. Incredible. And after that the teacher told me, “If you want to come every week, just come, and we will try to figure something out. Just enjoy yourself, just have fun.” And every week, after this improv, I slowly began to dance again.

I was supposed to begin a degree in dance before my accident. So I called my teachers at the college, and I said, “Just to let you know, I’ve started dancing again.” And they were like, “What? You’re a quadriplegic and you dance? We would like to see you.” And two teachers from the college came to watch a rehearsal. After that, I asked my teacher if it would work for me to do my degree. That took one year, and after that I began my degree in Arts. Now I have my degree and my diploma in dance.

Everything is more complicated, but yes, the college was accessible. Some classes were difficult for me but I tried to adapt everything on my own. It was funny, because at the beginning of the class, in September, every teacher was very, very gentle with me, would give me a lot of attention, you know? But at the end of the year I was like everybody else, and it was good, very good.
france

after the improv, maybe five or ten minutes after, I opened my eyes and I said to myself, “Oh my God –
I’m a dancer!” it was a magic moment.....