Select Page

Fall sign-ups are closed. Winter sign-ups open December 1.

Join the waitlist

FUTURES ARTS · WINTER 2027

Art is powerful.
Come make work with
Disabled artists.

Virtual this winter. Six sessions online, on Saturdays. Closing with a virtual gallery and an online opening party. Free for Disabled and neurodivergent youth 18 to 30, Canada-wide.

Join the waitlist
Learn more
A dramatic, high-contrast black and white photograph of a young Latina woman with long, dark hair, wearing large, over-the-ear headphones. She is fully absorbed, drawing with a stylus on a digital tablet.
About
For me?
Access Needs
Eligibility
FAQ
Join the waitlist

FUTURES Arts · Winter 2027

What is FUTURES Arts?

FUTURES Arts is a free, virtual arts program. Open to Disabled and neurodivergent youth aged 18 to 30, Canada-wide.

This is where you make art alongside Disability arts communities actively shaping Canadian culture. Six weeks making original visual art. Your program starts in late January. It closes with a virtual gallery and an online opening party.

Camera optional. No networking pressure. Small group. Led by Disabled and neurodivergent artists who have been where you are.

Join the waitlist
🎨

Six sessions of making.

You leave with a virtual gallery and an online party to share it.

🙅
No explaining yourself.

A small virtual cohort of Disabled and neurodivergent artists. Show up as who you are.

♿
Access is the design.

ASL at every session. Camera off always okay. Recordings and transcripts, every time. You don’t have to ask.

Our approach

Disabled artists are challenging what gets valued in this country. You belong in that conversation.

Disabled artists are making and leading. FUTURES Arts puts you in the room where that work is happening.

You are not here to watch. You are here to create.

No diagnosis required. Come as you are.

Join the waitlist
Is this for me?

You don't need to call yourself an artist.

The application asks who you are, not what you have made.

No portfolio. No experience threshold. It can live in a sketchbook, a Notes app, or a practice you haven’t started. You still belong.

This cohort is for people who have not shown work publicly before.

“It felt validating. I’d been making art alone in my room for years, with no real space to show it. When the chance to be in an exhibition landed in my lap, it made me so happy. It makes me want to do more art, and more exhibitions.”
FUTURES Arts participant
What about access?

Access comes first. Not upon request.

Your access needs are welcome here from day one. We do not wait for you to ask.

Every FUTURES program starts with access built in. This cohort includes ASL interpretation at every session.

No masking required. Tell us what you need and we will plan for it.

Questions about access? DM @access.studio.official or email studio@accessnow.ca. We’ll give you a straight answer.

The people mentoring you

Meet the facilitators and mentor

Disabled and neurodivergent artists who have spent years in this space. They know it because they live it.
Woman with shoulder-length dark wavy hair smiling at the camera, wearing a houndstooth vest over a dark sweater, against a dark gray background. Black and white photo.
Emily Akerman
she/her · Visual Arts, facilitator, fall 2026 and winter 2027
Deaf artist with a Bachelor of Design from OCAD University. Her illustration and writing come from inside Deaf experience. Pursuing a degree in Psychology at TMU toward becoming a certified art therapist.
A Black woman wearing a patterned blue hijab against a blue background, smiling with her arms crossed, wearing a blazer with a QR code on the right sleeve.
Libin Ahmed
she/her · Visual Arts, facilitator, fall 2026 and winter 2027
Student, artist, and big thinker. She has worked with marginalized communities in the nonprofit sector for over six years. She uses art to challenge hate and prejudice, so minorities are seen, heard, and celebrated.
A smiling mixed-race Black non-binary person in a dark blue velvet durag and clear square glasses, wearing a dark blue knit jumper over a white t-shirt.
Sekai Waterman
they/them · Visual Arts, facilitator
Neurodivergent writer, entrepreneur, and newcomer to Canada. They have worked in nonprofits across the Disability, arts, and social change sectors. Founder of The Art Vending Machine, a social enterprise that makes the arts more accessible. They also wrote and directed an original play about the intersections of identity.
A smiling young woman with braided light brown hair, blue scrunchies, and glasses sits in a power wheelchair. She wears a white shirt and colourful pour-painted leggings beside a table of her dog paintings.
Quinn Smith-Windsor
she/her · Visual Arts, mentor
Artist, entrepreneur, and Disability rights advocate from Treaty 6 Territory, Saskatchewan. She pours and drags fluid acrylic, using the movement of her wheelchair on the canvas. Co-founder of The PossAbility Shop and a 2022 Terry Fox Humanitarian Award recipient.
A smiling person with long brown hair and bangs, a nose ring, and a blue top, in front of green leaves.
Cait Cahill
she/they · Visual Arts, facilitator, winter 2027
Cait Cahill (she/they) has a background in studio arts and theatre design, a BFA in Performance Production from Toronto Metropolitan University, and an MA in Critical Disability Studies from York University. Her personal creative practice is guided by curiosity and wonder, exploring how we come to know and experience the world through making. She also works behind the scenes as FUTURES Program Coordinator, supporting creative programming for Disabled and neurodivergent young people.
A smiling person with shoulder-length dark curly hair and pink lipstick, in a plum blazer over a black top, against a dark grey backdrop.
Sydney Elaine Butler
they/them · Visual Arts, facilitator, winter 2027
Disability leadership facilitator, human resources professional, and founder of Accessible Creates. They are biracial, queer, and autistic, and bring that lived experience to every session. Sydney believes Disabled and neurodivergent young people do not need fixing. The world around them does.
What does it look like?

Six sessions online. A virtual gallery and an online opening party.

FUTURES Arts: Visual Arts runs online this winter, on Saturdays, January 30 to March 6, 1:00 to 4:30 PM ET.

The cohort is small, so you will know the people in the room. If you miss a session, you pick up where you left off.

The program closes with a virtual gallery and an online opening party. You decide what goes into the gallery. Your facilitators and mentor help you prepare.

Key details
Dates

Saturdays: January 30 to March 6, 2027.

Schedule

Saturdays, 1:00 to 4:30 PM ET

Location

Virtual. Zoom link sent after registration

Cohort

Small group, virtual

Cost
Free, plus an art supplies package mailed to you
Final show

Virtual gallery, online opening party (date to follow)

Who can apply

Eligibility

■ Aged 18 to 30
■ Disabled or neurodivergent
■ A Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or refugee
■ Ready to make art this winter, no experience necessary

Self-identification welcome, no diagnosis required.

Fall 2026 is full. Winter 2027 sign-ups open December 1.

Join the waitlist
Funded by the Government of Canada through Canada Service Corps. Free for all participants, no registration or supply fee. Every participant gets a small art supplies package in the mail.

FAQ

Do I need to be an experienced artist to apply?
No. FUTURES Arts is not a portfolio review. Whether you have been making art for years or just starting, you belong here. No portfolio. No experience threshold.
Is there a cost?

No. FUTURES Arts is fully free, thanks to Canada Service Corps. No registration fee, no supply fee. You cover nothing. We also mail you a small art supplies package before the program starts.

Do I need a diagnosis to apply?
No. Self-identification is welcome. No diagnosis required, ever.
What accessibility supports are provided?

Access is built into every part of this program. Every session includes ASL interpretation, recordings, and a written transcript. Camera off is always okay, and you can join by chat if that’s easier. We build in pacing, rest breaks, and low-stimulation options throughout every session. Tell us what you need and we will plan for it. Email studio@accessnow.ca or DM @access.studio.official.

What if I can’t make it to every session?
You can miss a session and come back. The cohort is small, and you are not lost when you return.
What if programs have let me down before?
We hear that a lot. FUTURES Arts was built by Disabled and neurodivergent artists who have been in exactly those programs. DM us at @access.studio.official before you register if you want to talk it through. We will give you a straight answer.

Free arts program. Virtual. This winter.

Fall sign-ups are closed. Winter sign-ups open December 1.

Join the waitlist
Not ready to register? DM us first at @access.studio.official. We respond same day.
Or email studio@accessnow.ca
PROGRAMS
FUTURES Core
FUTURES Intensives
FUTURES Arts
FUTURES Book Club
FUTURES Social Media Internship
COMMUNITY
FUTURES Book Club
About AccessFest
Blog
CONTACT
studio@accessnow.ca
Instagram
Facebook
X / Twitter
218-192 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2C2
FUTURES Arts is funded in part by Canada Service Corps, a national movement that empowers youth aged 12–30 to gain experience and build important skills while giving back to their community. Learn more at Canada.ca/CanadaServiceCorps
© 2026 AccessNow. All rights reserved. @access.studio.official