The Bloor Annex BIA Accessibility Project

2023 - 2024
Bloor-Annex neighbourhood, Toronto, Ontario

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Artists Alex Bulmer, Anna Camilleri and Tristan R. Whiston collaborated with STEPS to develop The Bloor Annex BIA Accessibility Project, a pilot placemaking project that enhances accessibility in public spaces through embodied research, the creation of multidisciplinary artworks and public engagement.

May I Take Your Arm? co-creators (Bulmer, Camilleri and Whiston) adapted the project model that foregrounds relational place-based discovery for The Bloor Annex BIA Accessibility Project. Bulmer, Camilleri, and Whiston co-devised audio recorded neighbourhood walks within the Bloor Annex BIA with disability-identified co-discoverers; the creation of publicly accessible audio compositions; and the creation of a 48 by 32-inch exterior tactile map. STEPS is pursuing funding for fabrication methods to enhance tactility of the map to increase access for Blind and low vision people navigating the Bloor Annex neighbourhood.

STEPS Public Art published the Accessible Art and Placemaking Toolkit that includes the Bloor Annex BIA project with ReDefine Arts, along with resources that can be used to support the planning of public art and placemaking projects and making public spaces more accessible through art and cultural programs.

Credits
Creators:
Alex Bulmer, Co-Creator | Performer (Discovery Walks)
Anna Camilleri, Co-Creator | Designer & Artist (Tactile Map)
Tristan R. Whiston, Co-Creator | Editor & Dramaturge (Audio Compositions)

Collaborators:
Luke Anderson, Co-Discoverer
Ophira Calof, Co-Discoverer
LeZlie Lee Kam, Co-Discoverer
Vivian Chong, Co-Discoverer
Jane Field, Co-Discoverer
Sean Lee, Co-Discoverer
Igor Samardzic, Co-Discoverer
Becky Gold, Creative Access Support
Adam White, Audio Field Recording
Pablo Rincon, Still Photography
Madison Kennedy, STEPS
Sam Mitjavile, STEPS
Melanie Ramsay, The Bloor Annex BIA
Brian Burchell, The Bloor Annex BIA
Justine Bochenek, Health, Access + Planning (HAP) Lab
Megan Wilk, ReDefine Arts
Wy Joung Kou, ReDefine Arts

Partners:
STEPS
ReDefine Arts
The Bloor Annex BIA
The Fire and Rescue Team
(HAP) Lab in School of Urban and Regional Planning, Toronto Metropolitan University

Links

Downloads

Related blog entry

  • blind artist Alex Bulmer takes the arm of co-discoverer Sean Lee, while being audio recorded walking down a city street.

    Accessible Art and Placemaking Project - Discovery Walks, 2023. Photo by Pablo Rincon.

  • blind artist Alex Bulmer pushes the wheelchair of co-discoverer Jane Field through a clothing store, while being audio recorded.

    Accessible Art and Placemaking Project - Discovery Walks, 2023. Photo by Pablo Rincon.

  • blind artist Alex Bulmer takes the arm of co-discoverer LeZlie Lee Kam as they cross a city street while being audio recorded.

    Accessible Art and Placemaking Project - Discovery Walks, 2023. Photo by Madison Kennedy.

  • blind artist Alex Bulmer takes the arm of co-discoverer Luke Anderson as they pass by a cannabis dispensary with a Stop Gap ramp, while being audio recorded.

    Accessible Art and Placemaking Project - Discovery Walks, 2023. Photo by Becky Gold.

  • blind artist Alex Bulmer sits on a city sidewalk bench with co-discoverer Vivian Chong. They are facing each other and smiling.

    Accessible Art and Placemaking Project - Discovery Walks, 2023. Photo by Becky Gold.

  • blind artist Alex Bulmer stands beside co-discoverer Ophira Calof on a city sidewalk in front of a church, while being audio recorded.

    Accessible Art and Placemaking Project - Discovery Walks, 2023. Photo by Anna Camilleri.

  • a small group of people at the edge of a city sidewalk surrounded by small shops look across the street, prompted by the direction of one of the group members.

    Accessible Art and Placemaking Project - Discovery Walks, 2023. Photo by Pablo Rincon.

  • a wooden tactile map on a city sidewalk reads, "Bloor Annex BIA Tactile Map".

    The Bloor Annex BIA Accessibility Project, 2024. Tactile map by Anna Camilleri. Photo by Ayesha Khan.

  • three people touch and look at a wooden tactile map on a city sidewalk.

    The Bloor Annex BIA Accessibility Project, 2024. Tactile map by Anna Camilleri. Photo by Ayesha Khan.

  • group of people pose beside a wooden tactile map on a city sidewalk.

    The Bloor Annex BIA Accessibility Project, 2024. Tactile map by Anna Camilleri. Photo by Ayesha Khan.

  • close-up of a person's hands as they touch a wooden tactile map.

    The Bloor Annex BIA Accessibility Project, 2024. Tactile map by Anna Camilleri. Photo by Ayesha Khan.

  • close-up of two people touching a wooden tactile map.

    The Bloor Annex BIA Accessibility Project, 2024. Tactile map by Anna Camilleri. Photo by Ayesha Khan.

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