Our Mission
The Disability Collective (TDC) is the only fully disability-led performing arts organization in Toronto. Dedicated to celebrating and showcasing work created solely by disabled artists, TDC strives to de-stigmatize disability and challenge perceptions of disability by providing disabled artists with paid opportunities to share their work in a variety of forms, along with actively advocating for and improving accessibility and inclusion in the Canadian arts community by providing disability consultation services. We are committed to strengthening the disability community's presence in the arts and creating a space where disabled artists can connect and grow their practices together.
We recognize that disability has a compounded impact on those at the intersection of other marginalized communities, such as Black, Indigenous, and 2LGBTQIA+ communities, people of colour, women and femmes, fat people, religious minorities, and more. The Disability Collective seeks to empower disabled folks from all communities, and to break down barriers and stereotypes of what it means to be disabled.
Our Values
TRUST
We are committed to creating safe, accessible, and inclusive spaces for the disabled community. We are dedicated to listening to the needs of the disabled community and continuing to build upon and expand our relationships with our artists, audiences, clients, and staff.
INNOVATION
We are dedicated to communicating with and learning from our community and collaborators in order to construct practices that are equitable, accessible, and always evolving to best meet the needs of everyone that we engage with. Accessibility is inherently creative, and we are excited to crip our practices by bringing innovative and exciting creative solutions to ensure increased accessibility across the arts ecosystem.
CRIP JOY
We approach all aspects of our work with joy and excitement, and are dedicated to celebrating disability and sharing our knowledge of accessibility in a positive and uplifting way. We are actively working to combat the narrative that disability is something that should be pitied or “fixed” by creating moments and spaces filled with crip joy.
INCLUSION
We are passionate about empowering folks from all communities by ensuring they feel safe and welcome in all of our spaces, and always seek to prioritize the needs of the disabled community. We approach inclusion holistically and ensure that through accessible practices and community connections, our inclusive and diverse work is reflected in our audiences.
What Disability Means to Us
We believe that disability provides a unique perspective that deserves to be shared. One billion people, or 15% of the world's population, experience some form of disability. We believe that disability can be defined in many ways, including physical impairments, mental health conditions, emotional disabilities, sensory disabilities, cognitive challenges, neurodiversity, and chronic illnesses. Disabled folks are more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes, such as less education, poorer health conditions, lower rates of employment, and higher poverty rates, which is why we are dedicated to creating opportunities for disabled artists to be paid for their work.