Following the keynote addresses, the audience was treated to 2 half-hour presentations before
lunch each day with the topics including De’VIA manifesto, De’VIA themes and motifs, Deaf creative
writing, intersectional Deafnicity in literature, musical aesthetics in signed language performance arts,
and political artivism. Artivism, as explained by the dynamic presenter Amy Cohen Efron, is a formula
for artists to create art in multiple forms with a political intention to spark conversations and raise
awareness. Efron gave a couple of simple yet powerful examples of how one could make an impact
as an artist: applying the blue painter tapes on the raised letter words “deaf,” “and,” and “hard of” on
the outdoor signage so it read “Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing”
signifying the underlying intent of the association; and setting a temporary memorial in front of a
medical research building mourning the death of 12 Deaf children as a result of cochlear implant
surgery in the 1980s. Both examples resulted in a call to security and legal enforcement and heated
debates across social media platforms about the appropriateness of such activities. This captured the
spirit of Deaf art repeatedly emphasized at the conference: Deaf people have always existed, and
their humanity cannot be denied.
The rest of the day went to the panels and the presenters sharing their respective works:
a) The lived experiences and historical narratives of Deaf New Yorkers, Deaf Lesbians, and a
19 th century Deaf artist;
b) Comics, photography, literature, and filmmaking through Deaf eyes;
c) The Nordic Deaf Theatre Companies Collaboration panel;
d) Intersectional Deaf experiences and identities in poetry and performing arts;
e) Historical fiction based on the vanished Martha’s Vineyard signing community;
f) Poetry as a pedagogical device in re-animating the historical account of Deaf experiences.
The conference finished on the high note with the screening of Signing Black in America
documentary led by the writer of this article, who is known for the research on Black ASL and
language attitudes in the American Deaf communities. The 30-plus minute documentary is a chronicle
of racial, educational, religious, and cultural impacts on the life of Black ASL, as told from the
perspectives of students, teachers, scholars, entertainers, deaf families, and interpreters. After the
screening, the audience was aching for more information on Black Deaf experiences and language,
which emphasizes the point Kristi Merriweather made in her keynote presentation: we need to
promote and produce diverse representations of Deaf experiences in all mediums.
The overall goal of the ARTiculating Deaf Experiences conference was to offer a
comprehensive view of Deaf experiences encompassing art as a movement, historical and current
perspectives, literature in signed and written mediums, and theoretical application of intersectionality
in all mediums. Thanks to the hard work of the conference committee and the participation of
presenters of diverse backgrounds, consider the goal achieved.
The Power of ASL
11
Winter 2019 – Issue 16