In Touch / In Motion
QUIET PARADE Organized by Aislinn Thomas,
in collaboration with MSVU Art Gallery (Halifax, 2022) and Blackwood Gallery (Toronto, 2024).
2022: Stim toys created by participants in Tactile Stim Toy Workshops with Eyelevel and Wonder’neath's support, through the HEATWAVES Residency. Created and (un)performed in collaboration with artists Britt Moore Shirley and ven cain, with workshop participants, Sam and Raya Shields' support handing out stim toys.
2024: Stim toys created by participants in a Stim Toy Making Workshop supported by Blackwood Gallery and hosted at Tangled Art + Disability. (Un)performed in collaboration with artists and Tangled team members Jet Coghlan and Jack Hawk.
"Exploring processes of unmasking and affirmation within visibility, this project is inspired by shared experiences of stimming and witnessing - How we may find security with one another amidst moments of potential vulnerability, and a sense of togetherness even in passing. Through vibrant multi-textured garments and stim toys, In Touch / In Motion visually amplifies neurodiverse movement in (un)performance and participation (in both overt and intrinsic forms)."
More thank yous :)
~To the fellow makers, performers, and audience members in the Quiet Parade for making this experience all the magic that it was.
~To my parents for their support in this creative process.
~To Kawama Kasutu and Rebecca Fernandez for assisting with the open studio workshop at Wonder'neath.
~To Justin Jarvis, and Brandon Boyd, Maddi Tang, and Grey Piitaapan Muldoon for photo and video documentation (2022), and Henry Chan (2024).
"The stim toys shared through this project were created with the help of participants in tactile stim toy making workshops, interconnecting our community through tactile sensation distinct from visibility. Each of our experiences of this environment will be embedded in every movement and feeling we share In Touch / In Motion and connection we carry beyond the Quiet Parade."
