Make art.
Find your people.
Build your future. On your terms.
You are an artist. Even if your work lives in a drawer, a notebook, a voice memo no one else has heard. Even if you have never called yourself one out loud. Art does not require an audience to be real. It does not require a portfolio, a credential, or anyone’s permission. FUTURES Arts was built for you. By disabled artists. For disabled artists.
What is FUTURES Arts?
Make real work.
You leave with work you made. Work you can show. A gallery installation. A critical practice. Not a certificate.
Find your people.
A space to be fully yourself. Small group. In-person. With people who actually get it.
Access is the design.
Not available upon request. Every session, every venue, every experience is planned with your access needs in mind.
Your disability experience is the material.
FUTURES Arts is not about following a set path. It is about making the work that is yours to make, with people who understand what it means to move through the world as a disabled and neurodivergent artist.
Your disability experience is not a barrier to the art. It is the material. This is where it starts. Together.
Choose your cohort
Both are free. Both are in-person in Toronto. Both are led by disabled and neurodivergent artists.
FUTURES Arts: Theatre
Attend up to 10 shows at the Toronto Fringe Festival together. Not just as audience members, but as a disabled community engaging with live performance on your own terms. Guided by Dr. Jessica Watkin, Blind artist and disability dramaturg.
FUTURES Arts: Visual Arts
Six weeks making original visual art at 401 Richmond, rooted in your own disability and neurodivergent experience. Finishing with a one-week installation at Tangled Arts + Disability. Opening night is planned by the participants.
The FUTURES Arts flow
Register and enroll
Share your story your way: written, audio, or video. Tell us which cohort interests you. DM us first if you have questions.
Make the work
Show up. Bring your full self. Theatre cohort: attend Fringe shows as a disabled community. Visual Arts cohort: six weeks in the studio, then Tangled Arts + Disability.
Show the world
Visual Arts cohort closes with a gallery installation at Tangled Arts + Disability. Opening night is yours to plan. Theatre cohort builds a critical practice you carry forward.
Regardless of which cohort you join, you can expect:
Real creative work
Hands-on making in accessible spaces. Your disability experience is the material, not the barrier.
Community
Real connections with disabled and neurodivergent artists who get it. Show up as you are.
A finished body of work
You leave with something real. A gallery show. A portfolio. A creative practice that is yours.
Meet the facilitators
Disabled and neurodivergent artists who have spent their careers doing this work. Not talking about it.
Dr. Jessica Watkin
she/they
Theatre · Lead facilitator coach
Blind artist, scholar, and disability dramaturg. Editor of Interdependent Magic: Disability Performance in Canada. 15 years mentoring Blind youth in national leadership programs.
Bethany Schaufler-Biback
she/her
Theatre · Facilitator
Arts practitioner and PhD student at U of T. Stage manager, producer, and accessibility coordinator. Researches disability community at live performance.
Emily Akerman
she/her
Visual Arts · Facilitator
Deaf artist with a Bachelor of Design from OCAD University. Illustration and writing shaped by lived experience of deafness. Pursuing a degree in Psychology at TMU toward becoming a certified art therapist.
Tamar Bresge
she/her
Visual Arts · Facilitator
Artist, writer, and educator with dual MFAs. Low-vision and low-hearing. Her work lives at the intersection of text, image, sound, and language. Spoke about disability and art-making at TEDxTufts.
Eligibility
FUTURES Arts is open to youth who are:
- Between 18 and 30 years old
- Disabled, neurodivergent, or equity-deserving LGBTQ2S+ or BIPOC
- Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- Based in the GTHA for in-person programming
- Ready to invest in your creative practice
- Self-identification welcome. No diagnosis required, ever.
🔥 Spots are limited. Register before they are gone.
Key dates:
Theatre cohort
End of June 2026
Toronto Fringe Festival venues, GTHA
Visual arts cohort
June to August 2026
401 Richmond St W and Tangled Arts + Disability, Toronto
Opening night
August 2026
Tangled Arts + Disability gallery installation, planned by participants
Accessibility is not an add-on.
Your access needs are welcome here from day one. We do not wait for you to ask. Every session, every venue, every experience is planned with access in the design. Tell us what you need and we will answer directly, no runaround.
FUTURES Arts is a space where you can show up fully, however that looks for you. We are here to make sure nothing stands in the way of your art, your community, and your growth.
FAQ
Do I need to be an experienced artist to apply?
Is there a cost?
Do I need a diagnosis to apply?
What accessibility supports are provided?
Can I apply for both cohorts?
What if programs have let me down before?
Need help?
If you need any support or have questions about the program or registration process, reach out. We will make it work for you.
📩 Contact us at
studio@accessnow.ca
or DM
@access.studio.official
on Instagram.