The Disability Collective

It was all smiles and good-cheer at the Collective's annual Holiday Festival again this year. With gentle snow falling, and the scent of hot apple cider hanging thick in the air, friends in Toronto's vast and diverse disability community gathered at Wychwood Barns to share best wishes and do their holiday shopping. In today's episode, we're highlighting the sounds of the festiv...

With The Disability Holiday Festival at Wychwood Barns fast approaching on December 7th, it's time for another virtual shopping spree with describer JJ Hunt and cultural curator Christine Malec. In this episode, the two old pals describe the wares of 30 different market vendors, then break down all the events and accessibility offerings you'll find at this years' festival. For venue...

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas -- Rocky Horror time! To help prepare for this year's Disability Collective presentation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, describer JJ Hunt has created a brand new primer for you. Building on the visuals he described last year in episode #2, JJ breaks down the visuals in Rocky's most famous musical numbers including the Ti...

Christine Malec has been obsessed with the idea of sign singing since she first discovered it at last year's Disability Collective presentation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. With Rocky 2025 right around the corner, it's the perfect time to make her dreams come true and have an in-depth conversation about the art form. So Christine and audio describer JJ Hunt hopped on a zoom call wit...

This month, The Disability Collective is mounting 20 Years Later: The (In)Accessibility of Ontario , a photography exhibition showcasing the shortcomings of the AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act). When Describer/Consultant duo JJ Hunt and Christine Malec were brought on board to write the visual descriptions, they proposed an experiment: instead of JJ writing the descriptions...

Remember those long hot days of summer? When you hung out with your friends, listened to music, played games, and maybe did some shopping, surrounded by cool and interesting artists? Wouldn't it be nice to revisit those amazing days again, even just for an hour? Well have we got a treat for you! Today, let's push September aside and zip back in time so we can all hang out at The Disabili...

In this companion episode to The Disability Arts Festival Primer, Christine and JJ describe the prints, jewelry, stuffies, and stickers that artists will be selling at this year's market on August 10th at Toronto's Wychwood Barns. For complete Access and Venue guides, check out the festival webpage:  TheDisabilityCollective.com/ArtsFestival To book a sighted guide, or reserve a spot on t...

Well it was bound to happen. The Disability Collective's annual Artisan Market went and grew so big it blossomed into The Disability Arts Festival!  To help folks get their crocheted ducks in row, Christine Malec and JJ Hunt pulled together this audio primer packed with festival info. Join them as they describe the visuals of the festival venue, Wychwood Barns, break down the accessibility of...

Are you familiar with the visuals of a Burlesque Bump? How about a Fan Dance? Do you know what a Tassel Twirl looks like? Well, do you want to?! In anticipation of CRIPtonite 2025, Toronto’s radical Deaf and disability-led drag and burlesque show, The Disability Collective has put together this helpful (and sassy!) Audio Description Primer. Have a listen, then pick up your ticket and join us at Bu...

On Wednesday June 25th at 8pm, The Disability Collective will blow the top off of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre with CRIPtonite, a fierce, radical, Deaf and disability-led drag and burlesque show! Collective regulars Christine Malec and JJ Hunt have gotten the tap to provide Audio Description for the event. They are raring to go, but first... they have questions! To help set them on the right path...

On Thursday, February 20th at 8pm, a gaggle of the hottest disabled comedians in Toronto will storm The Theatre Centre stage for The Disability Collective's 2025 iteration of Sit Down Comedy Show! In this episode, host JJ Hunt describes the visuals of stand up comedy, the old fashioned good looks of the historic Theatre Centre, and the performance styles of the comedians on the bill. Later, J...

Market day is finally here! In this festive episode, Christine Malec and JJ Hunt capture the sounds and describe the sights inside The Disability Holiday Market at Toronto's Wychwood Barns.  After a quick chat with The Disability Collective's power squad, Emily, Nathan, and Ali, JJ heads off to lead a described walking tour of the Barns, and explore the market with a group of Blind and L...

Are you ready to go shopping? Our annual Disability Holiday Market featuring work by disabled artists is on December 8th at Toronto's Wychwood Barns, and we want to make sure you have everything you need for a fun and festive market day! In this episode, accessibility consultant Christine Malec teams up with describer JJ Hunt to provide a primer on all the market details. Pour yourself a cup...

In this episode, Audio Describer JJ Hunt provides pre-show notes to AD users attending the Disability Collective's 2024 presentation of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Listen in as JJ describes the overall look of the film, the characters, and the sets, as well as the Collective's all-Deaf shadow cast, and the visuals of Performance ASL. All capped off with a step-by-step guide to the Tim...

Join Describer JJ Hunt for this Rocky Horror Picture Show Audio Description primer! In this episode, JJ breaks down the visuals of the RHPS, describing the costumes, the characters, the sets, and the overall look of the world's most famous cult film. Then, he wraps things up with a no-fail, step-by-step guide to the Time Warp! The material in this episode was originally created for the Disabi...