Work of Calgary artists with disabilities to be showcased in COP26 exhibit

An exhibit that features the work of some Calgary artists with disabilities will be showcased in Glasgow next week as part of the United Nation's annual climate change conference.

Artists from around the world will be taking part in a collaborative global arts project for COP26 called Conference of the Birds.

It is inspired by an ancient Sufi poem of the same name that depicts the birds of the world flocking together at a time of existential crisis, a press release for the project says.

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Calgary's disability arts organization National accessArts Centre (NaAC) was selected to represent Canada's contribution to the project, which was crafted in response to COVID-19 and the climate crisis.

The artists involved will be attending the exhibit in person, along with some of the project's organizers  — and they are, in a word, excited.

"We've been working on this … for three months now, we've been meeting over Zoom weekly," Richelle Bear Hat, a Blackfoot/Dane-Zaa Cree artist who is the special projects facilitator at NaAC, told The Homestretch on Friday.

"And so to be able to accompany the work to Glasgow, to be part of the COP26 conference… it's a very unique opportunity, and something we didn't think would happen. But we're going."

Navigating change

NaAc is composed of visual artists, dancers, theatre practitioners and Indigenous elders, and is the oldest and largest disability arts organization in Canada.

For Conference of the Birds, its contributing artists — Rachel Harding, Karin Hazle, Jonathan Stel and JorDen Tyson — submitted four self-portraits, as well as photos that were snapped with a disposable camera that floated between them on St. Patrick's Island in Calgary's East Village.

The poem, Bear Hat says, follows the story of a flock of birds that go through different valleys — of love, for example, or wonderment.

"Just different kinds of things that we face all the time in our lives. Of how to navigate change, and how to also navigate the times that aren't — that don't always feel good," Bear Hat said.

She said it sparked many outdoor gatherings and discussions among the artists that led to the photographs.

"We gathered and reflected on this poem, every week we went to our valley, and we were in deep discussions. And in the end, we created this series of photographs, and also a video of a time that we got to gather by the river safely."

A feeling of peace and joy

Rachel Harding is one of the artists who contributed, and says NaAC has allowed her a creative outlet.

It feels, Harding says, like a family getting together and doing art together.

"The fact that I get to be creative in a place that is very welcoming. The instructors and other artists are amazing at what they do, and it feels like a second home to me," Harding said.

Harding's favourite art form is drawing, but in one of the photographs for Conference of the Birds, she is pictured standing in the bushes with a recording device.

It represents being outdoors, and listening to the world around you, she says.

"I think something about Rachel's photograph, and contribution as a whole to this project, is just an openness," Bear Hat said.

"There's that sense of exploration. And I think that that's such an important — an important skill to work and exercise, especially when navigating change or learning new things."

As for what Harding hopes people get out of the exhibit in Glasgow, she said she hopes they feel inspired to make their own art.

"As well as feeling a sense of peace and joy," Harding said.

Conference of the Birds will be on display at The Pipe Factory in Glasgow, Scotland, from November 5 until the 12.