The Blackwood invites UTM staff, faculty, students, and community members to attend an informational session about QUIET PARADE, a large-scale public parade initiated by artist Aislinn Thomas that will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 18, 2024 (rain date: September 19) at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

QUIET PARADE is a participatory art project that embraces accessibility as a shared and interdependent practice through the creation of a low-stimulation, yet vibrant event. Like a traditional parade, it brings together a series of artistic expressions to compose a multifaceted whole. On the day of the parade, there will be performances, floats, audiences, and marching bands or musical groups playing soft music. Along UTM’s 5-Minute Walk, attendees will find various stations offering art-making activities and spaces to relax.

In this townhall session, Blackwood staff will discuss the project impetus and development, plans for UTM campus (including the parade route and activations), public programs and workshops, as well as ways for your department, office, student group, or organization to support the project and get involved.

The townhall will be held in person at the University of Toronto Mississauga (Council Chambers, William G. Davis Building 3130) and virtually on Zoom. While the session will be recorded and available upon request, we encourage you to attend the meeting in person or via livestream as you will have the opportunity to ask the Blackwood staff any questions you may have and connect with other attendees.

Please email blackwood [dot] gallery [at] utoronto.ca to request the townhall recording.

QUIET PARADE invites artists and the public to create a quiet parade—a sensory-friendly, float-based ensemble that experiments with unconventional approaches to celebration. Conceived by artist Aislinn Thomas and curated by scholar Ellyn Walker, the project is shaped by a commitment to cross-disability solidarity and the desire for pleasurable, joyful, and extravagant experiences of accessibility. QUIET PARADE rejects the notion that the labour required to create collective forms of access is inherently and exclusively burdensome, embracing it instead as a valuable disruption. The intention is to approach the creation of access as an ongoing, iterative, relational process and a deep source of possibility, connection, and magic.