ARTISTS’ BIOS

The following artists were rigorously selected and will be leading dis/Deaf Artist-in Residency Wingspan Residency Program in one or more of the following schools:

ACTOR: James Sanders, BFA SFU, is the Founding Artistic Director of Realwheels. James’ professional career includes acting, writing, and producing for stage and screen. Quadriplegic from a spinal cord injury, James is committed to positive and accurate representations of disability in the media. He has written and performed for screen, TV and plays all over Canada. See a link to his recent interview for Wingspan on CTV. He is working with Cross-Town Elementary-K-7, Lord Roberts’ Annex-K-3 and Elsie Roy K-7 Elementary students.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Cathy Browne is a lifestyle, travel and events photographer, public relations professional and vice- chair of the Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee for the City of Vancouver, who happens to be legally blind. Her camera captures a world she doesn’t see. She is working with Elsie Roy Elementary students.

COMEDIAN /ACTOR /WRITER: is a writer, inspirational humorist, and actor, who is best known for his signature show, The Church of 80% Sincerity. The show transforms the challenges and gifts of living with a facial difference into a compelling message that uplifts and delights audience around the world. David works with youth around the world in classrooms internationally from the White House to CNN, from the Sydney Olympics to schools in North America. He has performed in schools and worked with students at every age level throughout the US, Australia, the UK, Canada and all over Europe. He is working with Elsie Roy Elementary and Lord Roberts’ Elementary schools and students.

SINGER/SONGWRITER: Sarah Jicklingis a Canadian indie singer/songwriter who lives with bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, OCD, and PTSD. Sarah performs across the country with her band, My Good Bad Luck. Over the past few years, Sarah’s whimsical indie- pop songs have been featured on radio stations across the country and in independent films. Sarah uses her music to spread mental health awareness and has opened up about her experiences with Bipolar Disorder and Anxiety Disorder on the radio, local television, podcasts, blogs, and live speaking events. She has performed at numerous Wingspan events, including at the CULTCH for International Women’s Day, March 8, 2018 and the Hatch Gallery. She is working with Dellview Secondary students.

VISUAL ARTIST: Richard Harlow is a painter and photographer with a visual impairment whose works include tactile media to experience through touch, and hung at universal height, which is accessible for wheelchair users. Richard fuels his art with activism as a direct response to his experience of living with blindness. His tactile paintings eliminate the barriers in the art world created by so-called abled bodies for the able-bodied. He wants to show that no person has limits to what they can accomplish and that having a disability is not the end. It’s only the beginning of a new chapter. He is working with École Ladner students.

VISUAL ARTIST: Kelsie Grazier is a UBC Faculty of Education Alum! She holds a BFA from Emily Carr, a B.Ed. in Secondary Fine Arts Education, as well as a M.Ed. in Deaf Education from UBC. She teaches at the Burnaby School for the Deaf. Her current paintings depict her life experiences of suddenly becoming profoundly deaf while completing her second degree. She juxtaposes architecturally designed canvases of simple lines with the aural noise of Tinnitus, which is the perception of noise or ringing in the ears common to those experiencing hearing loss.  Her work has been shown in BC and now is going to Japan. She is working with Dellview Secondary students.