About

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This project, is inspired by the campaign *300 To Live and funded by a Canada Arts Council “Digital Originals” grant.

For a very long time people with disabilities in BC have been expected to live under the poverty line, despite possibly having extra costs associated with their disability like mobility, accessibility or medical equipment and having less access to employment due to lack of access in the workplace. Check out the “Context and Resources” section of this site to learn more background.

The title “Insufficient” comes from Disability Alliance BC’s response to the provincial government’s small increase of $50 a month to disability benefits in 2019:

“Disability Alliance BC (DABC) is encouraged by these changes and welcomes any increase to disability and income assistance rates, but acknowledges that the increase is insufficient to meet the needs of many British Columbians living on disability and income supports.“

In this project I will interview or collect stories from 20 participants, and create digital portraits of them. The final form will be an electronic book, or “e-zine” which will be available and shareable on the internet.

Meet the artist:

Hello! I’m Roz MacLean, an artist, illustrator, educator and settler living on the unceded territory of the K’ómoks First Nation in Comox Valley, British Columbia. To learn more about me and my art you can visit my website.

Meet the project assistant:

My name is Gillian and I am the project assistant. My main tasks are editing and social media management. I was thrilled to be a part of this project not only because it directly aligns with my educational background and career goals of being a writer and social media manager, but because this project also focuses on an issue that I am very passionate about. I rely on disability benefits as well and can relate to each participants’ experiences and struggles in my own way. I think it’s important that people with disabilities have space to speak about the marginalization and unique challenges we face. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who made this project possible; I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to shed light on this issue. To learn more about me and my personal project that practices disability advocacy through fashion and reclaiming labels, follow me on Instagram or visit my website and subscribe to updates.

What will happen when the project is finished?

The artwork and stories / interviews will:

– become a shareable electronic file that is accessible for every body to read and share.

– be used for advocacy.

– be accessible at this website. It may also be hosted on a CBC Radio website dedicated to Digital Originals projects.

– be submitted to online e-zine libraries.

Participants will receive a high quality file of their portrait.