The Whole World in Our Hands Exhibition Tour

Led by partially Blind artist Olivia Brouwer, this tour of The Whole World in Our Hands animates the Sensory Engagement Guide that she created for the exhibition as Creative Access Facilitator. This guide integrates additional tools for Blind and low-vision visitors, including a co-language of Braille and large print. Opening new forms of engagement through multi-sensory experiences, this tour will share prompts to activate your senses in response to the artworks in the exhibition. Olivia will discuss the creative access initatives that she facilitated for the exhibition, such as mapping the artwork sites on a 3D-printed tactile map.

While all are welcome, the tour is designed for Blind and low-vision attendees.

The Blackwood acknowledges CNIB Access Labs for their support in mapping the exhibition on BlindSquare, a GPS-app developed for Blind, DeafBlind, and low-vision individuals. Free to download and available for both iPhone and Android users.

Accessibility

The tour will begin at the e|gallery , which is a physically accessible space. The e|gallery is located on the ground floor of the CCT building, accessible via the east entrance (adjacent to parking lot 9) at ground level, or by elevator from the main floor entrance and at parking garage levels 1, 3, and 5. Accessible multi-user gendered washrooms are located at ground level, and accessible multi-user all-gender washrooms are located on the third floor of the CCT Building.

Some movement throughout the campus will be required—ramps and curb cuts are in place. Please note part of the tour will be in an unpaved area a short distance from a paved walking trail. Its surface is hard-packed mulch.

An exhibition in campus spaces at the University of Torono Mississauga, The Whole World in Our Hands is an invitation to break apart, remodel, and act out new grammars of empathy and togetherness. Composed of public artworks, experiential workshops, and a film made by, for, and with disabled artists and collaborators, this program asks: how does the presence of blindness, deafness, illness, and neurodiversity nurture a language that is sensed rather than spoken? What are the syntaxes of touch, smell, sound, and movement? With the understanding that everyone plays a role in how disability is experienced, The Whole World in Our Hands embraces our shared responsibility for making livable worlds for all.

Curated by Jacqui Usiskin, The Whole World in Our Hands runs September 3, 2024–January 7, 2025.

To learn more about The Whole World in Our Hands and contributors, visit the .

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Image: Darrin Martin, Take Breath is Breath (Breathe) (production still), 2021. Video with sound, 9:30. Courtesy the artist.

Image description: A person inside a life-size transparent balloon holds his hands up to touch the plastic orb. His surroundings mysteriously evoke an interior space and outdoor garden simultaneously. To the left of the image ,white text reads: "The Whole World in Our Hands Exhibition Tour." At bottom right, white text reads: "October 30, 2024 / University of Toronto Mississauga." At bottom left, white texts reads: "Olivia Brouwer." At top, white text reads: "The Blackwood." Text and image are against a gradient background with hues of purple and yellow with three intersecting circles.

Host or Publisher Blackwood Gallery