Madeline Burghardt has a PhD in Critical Disability Studies from York University and is the author of Broken: Institutions, Families, and the Construction of Intellectual Disability, McGill-Queen’s University Press (2018). Currently a faculty member in the Occupational Therapy Department at the University of Manitoba, her research focuses on the lived experiences of people with disabilities and historical interpretations of disability and difference. Using narrative and collaborative methodologies, she has worked extensively with people labelled/with intellectual disabilities in professional and artistic capacities and is an ally of the institutional survivor community. She is currently involved in a research project with survivors of the Manitoba Developmental Centre that is connecting historical artefacts with survivors’ narratives of their institutional experiences. She has also done first-person research with the thalidomide survivor community in Canada

Alice Crawford is Project Director for Manitoba Cultural Society of the Deaf – Deaf Arts. Partially deafened at an early age, how she hears and interprets spoken language is in her art. Communication is processed differently for Alice, her work giving you a perspective on the way she hears. It is a visual representation of when everything comes together for her in her aural interactions with others providing the clues are caught correctly. Or not.

Alice keeps it fresh with unexpected imagery with innovative printmaking using typography, collage, collagraphs, and/or other printmaking techniques to express the way she hears. She is a graduate of two BSc degrees from the University of Manitoba and an Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design from Red River College.

Alice was honoured by Arts Culture Industries Manitoba (ACI) as Featured Member of the Month in September 2014. She has exhibited in three solo shows, and several group exhibitions. Her work can be seen at Martha Street Studio and Gallery Lacosse in Winnipeg, and in the Deaf Culture Centre in Toronto. Her art is on display across Canada and the USA.

Connor Derraugh holds a Jazz Performance Degree from the University of Manitoba with a double major in piano and saxophone. A traumatic brain injury survivor and proud voice of the disability community, Connor recorded sax and piano parts in New York City for the movie soundtrack, Best Summer Ever – a film that features a cast and crew of diverse abilities.

Connor has performed at events such as the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, the Downtown Concert Series, the Asper Jazz Series, the Assiniboine Park’s Jazz in the Garden and Summer Concert Series and Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra concerts. Connor is currently recording his debut solo CD, produced by Juno nominee Larry Roy.

Jo Dixon’s work is community driven and can be seen across Canada. She has worked as an arts educator, theatre and movement coach, puppeteer and mom. With a background in expressive arts therapy, peacebuilding, and placemaking the nature of her work is constantly changing to bring out the best in her collaborators and students.

Jo’s work includes theatre and performance art, puppetry, dance, installation, storytelling, visual art and sculpture. From directing theatre with and for the young, creating inter-generational art, devising multidisciplinary experiences to whatever your community is willing to dream up with her next, Jo is willing to give it a go!
 

Milli Flaig-Hooper It is in the unspoken word that Milli designs exquisite paper creations which speak volumes. The gentle sensibility she coaxes out of recycled paper presents the viewer with the opportunity to sink into her tactile world like a soft pillow might receive a weary head. Milli expresses her creativity through a collaborative process.

Milli’s love of paper making has grown in technique and diversity. She has been recognized for her unique work with awards in the Interlake Juried Art Shows, and the Jane Cameron Award (for Canadian artists with Down syndrome). Supported by creative collaborators she engages others to help her develop more fully as an artist through encouragement, sharing ideas, and experimenting with the paper. In 2011, Milli began offering paper making workshops and is invited regularly to present a workshop in schools, community centres, or festivals. She is now one of the WAVE artists offering Adventures with Art experiences!

Brenda Gorlick is an award-winning director, choreographer, and performer with a five-decade career in the performing arts. She has worked with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Stratford Festival, and the Banff Centre for Fine Arts. Her accolades include: RWB Honour Roll inductee, WAC Career Achievement in the Arts Award, an Honorary Evie Award for Theatre Educator, the YMCA/YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture, and induction into the Rainbow Stage Wall of Fame.

Brenda was Associate Artistic Director of Winnipeg Studio Theatre for 20 years, where she developed StudioWorks, training emerging artists in “triple threat” performance. She also founded the All Abilities Dancers with Manitoba Possible and co-founded AIM 4 ALL, an All Inclusive Musical Theatre company in 2025.

Her large-scale directing and choreography credits include the Arctic Winter Games Gala, World Police & Fire Games OC/CC, Canada Summer Games, Pan Am Games, and more. Highlights from over 250+ productions include Evita, Strike! The Musical, Spring Awakening, Les Misérables, Sister Act, and West Side Story.

Brenda has starred in Great American Family and Hallmark movies, indie shorts, and choreographed Time-Cut, Séance and the feature film November 1963. A passionate educator, Brenda has led Artist in the Schools projects for 30+ years, serves on the Dancer Transition Resource Centre (DTRC) board, and co-founded the Winnipeg Theatre Awards (The Evies).

Dammecia Hall, who is Winnipeg-born, grew up in a city that was lacking an urban Hip Hop dance scene. Exploring movements as a child and by watching music videos over the years inspired Dammecia to bring exposure to this style of under-appreciated dance. Her most rewarding accomplishment to date is as Founder/Artistic Director of an energetic Hip Hop Dance Company called Define Movement. Dammecia also produced Winnipeg’s first annual Hip Hop Dance Showcase “One Love.”

Dammecia has trained professionally in all genres of dance. Graduating from The School of Contemporary Dancers Senior Professional Program, Dammecia had the opportunity to work with established choreographers from across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Europe and the Continent of Africa.

Charmaine Johnson Putnam studied design and illustration at Red River College and was employed as a graphic artist in the sportswear industry.  She has exhibited at Manitoba Art Expo with the Assiniboia Group of Artists and donates artwork to CNIB’s annual auction.  Charmaine’s freelance projects include commissioned paintings and children’s books, including Debby-the-Po and Apparitions, Beetlemilk & Cooties. “C.J.” has been a support worker for adults with disabilities since 2008 and enjoys collaborating in an environment of diversity at New Directions.

Jacqueline Ladwig, M.Sc., Ph.D., is a respected educator and advocate in dance, accessibility, and inclusive movement practices. With over 30 years of experience at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, she has played a pivotal role in shaping curriculum and community programming that center inclusive movement education.

Jacqui’s graduate research—focused on motor control and learning (M.Sc.) and disability-inclusive dance environments (Ph.D.)—was informed by the development of two landmark initiatives: the ExplorAbility program (2009) and Access Dance for Life (2011). These programs engage learners of all ages and abilities through partnerships with schools and community organizations, demonstrating how dance can foster inclusive education, literacy, and social connection.

Jacqui has led professional development workshops, adjudicated festivals, and taught internationally. She has also served as a sessional instructor at the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba, where she taught a variety of courses around dance, motor development and inclusive physical activity across the lifespan.

Heather Martens Rempel is a teaching artist from Treaty 1 territory. When she is not printing and creating collages, she is sharing her skills with  people of all ages and abilities, to promote well- being through the joy of artmaking.

Cora Matheson is a working actor, director and artist educator with over 15 years of experience in the performance industry. A graduate of Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts and George Brown Theatre School, her love for performance grew into a passion for arts education during a mentorship at Young People’s Theatre in Toronto. For the last ten years, Cora has been gaining experience in arts education offering workshops in drama, improvisation, movement, and musical theatre to all ages and experience levels, including youth and adults with intellectual disabilities, as well as for remote communities across the Northwest Territories. She now coordinates the drama outreach program at Manitoba Theatre for Young People and continues to teach a wide range of students across Winnipeg. Her motto? Arts education is not just for the stage. It’s for life!

Debbie Patterson is a Winnipeg playwright, director and actor. Trained at the National Theatre School of Canada, she is a founding member of Shakespeare in the Ruins, served as Artistic Associate at Prairie Theatre Exchange from 2012 to 2018 and was a member of the Acting Company of the Stratford Festival in 2023.

She was decorated with the King Charles III Coronation Medal and is the recipient of a Douglas Campbell Award, the Winnipeg Mayor’s Making a Mark Award and the United Nations Platform for Action Committee’s Activist of the Year Award. She is a proud advocate for disability justice through her work as founding and current Artistic Director of Sick + Twisted Theatre.

She lives a wheelchair-enabled life in Winnipeg (Treaty 1) and in a cabin on the shore of Lake Winnipeg (Treaty 2) with her partner and collaborator, Arne MacPherson.

Sue Proctor is Artistic Director for Arts Inclusion and a graduate of the INDI program at Concordia University. She teaches creative drama for adults with intellectual disabilities at Arts Inclusion, creative drama at Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP), and independent mime and clowning workshops for adults.

Sue has facilitated Art Hives at Concordia University, puppet-making workshops at Art City and taught with Manitoba Artist in the Schools residencies. She did several Norway House Residencies in Northern Manitoba, which included teaching drama, performing as a clown and storytelling.

Sue is currently part of a dramaturg and playwrighting group for seniors and performs at festivals, university presentations and cabarets. Her Master’s thesis is available online — The Archetypal Role of the Clown as a Catalyst for Individual and Societal Transformation.

Jenel Shaw is a self-taught visual artist who graduated with her masters in Disability Studies from the University of Manitoba. Her dissertation, An Autoethnological Study of Art as a Tool of Empowerment, examined her own experiences with mental illness and disability art. Jenel is a passionate advocate for the disability community, with a focus on accessibility in the arts. Jenel is the executive director of Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba, the Co-Chair of the Manitoba Artist-Run Centres Coalition and sits on various arts boards.

Angela Taylor is a visual artist and a resident of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She uses photo-realistic and abstract styles with the human body and nature as inspiration. She integrates her training as a therapist and mental health and accessibility expert, empowering and supporting community members to express emotion and grow their skills in overall wellness.

She has authored several books, including Get Your Art On!, All Kinds of Minds, Forever on Fire, and Rewriting 40, and has multiple works up across Canada, including The Warrior Goddess at The Park Theatre in Winnipeg.

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