2023 - 2024 Factory ~ Student Led: crip is a verb

crip is a verb is a stretch of last year's workshopping access series by Iarlaith and Saverio; all participants are encouraged to share their experiences and perspectives on access in a discursive horizontal learning environment.

It is a site for exchanging knowledge continued by Saverio, open to any other student to join/takeover/reconfigure.

- Brief description

crip is a verb (Sandhal 2003) is a relaxed space exploring nuances of disabled experiences around DAI students. The space is open for two hours, with an open structure, allowing improvisation. The first hour is reserved for all the students who identify as disabled, crip, chronically ill, Mad, or Deaf to have a moment to come together and process their experience and access needs in the context of DAI trajectory.

The second hour is an open, conversational space where everyone is welcome to bring questions and experiences in anti-ableist structures. The proposal is to prioritize any anti-ableist urgency brought to this place by the participant. Because we do not have a working group yet, I have been considering two offers:

- glossary offer: words can set practice in motion, and we can explore ongoing definitions, reading texts together and supporting each other in accessing their meanings. Why crip? What is access? What is ableism? Through the work of disabled scholars and activists, we can reinforce the understanding of these terms within the DAI community. Different kinds of materials will be available, including more challenging academic texts, songs, music, and short definitions. If you have any resources to share, please bring them with you. Let’s try not to reproduce hierarchies in knowledge production: personal experiences, academic texts, dreams, and sticky notes are equally welcome.

- subtitling and transcribing hackathon offer: creating access is still too often regarded as time-consuming and extra work. During this encounter, we can share a cheap, fast, and effective workflow to convert audio content (mainly spoken words) into readable text documents or ready-to-embed subtitles. Any level of technical skills is welcome; the purpose is to find ways that work for us rather than imposing a specific workflow. This is a collective learning space, so please bring all your expertise, assemblages, and improvised trickster boxes. Only non-toxic professionalism is welcome.

ACCESS NOTE:

Due to the nature of our roaming program, I cannot offer an extensive access note now. I will ensure that some snacks, drinks, and several seating and laying options are present in the space and that we will allow ourselves a relaxed meeting format. I do not assume Englishes as the primary language during crip is a verb. This will be a place for language solidarity and negotiation, where you can express yourself in your preferred way. We will determine how to interpret, translate, or disperse our thoughts. Any non-verbal form of communication is equally welcome.

As an invitation to practice accessibility in our meeting, please consider providing a self-description in the introduction round (visually and whatever else you would like to share, e.g. disability, pronouns, other important things that you identify with). The visual self-description should imply what you look like (e.g. hair, skin color, etc.), what you are wearing and the spatial setting you are in. You do now have to share anything you are not comfortable with.

If you have access needs or questions, please write to Saverio: saveriocantoni@me.com