Win, Win, Win : The 18 Inclusion-isms You Need to Become a Disability Confident Employer is both a thought provoking piece of literature for today’s business leaders and a tribute to the tremendous artistic talent of Nova Scotian artists. Twenty years ago a group of dedicated stakeholders chose to serve the underserved by starting an agency known as reachAbility. The agency, dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities (and beyond), grew quickly but never lost sight of the importance of equalizing the playing field for all. In 2015, reachAbility introduced BAAFF (Bluenose Ability Arts & Film festival) a far-reaching festival dedicated to providing a voice to the disability arts community. The melding of reachAbility and BAAFF has resulted in “Win, Win, Win” an important resource that is encapsulating decades of inclusion expertise into what we call Inclusion-isms. – Tova Sherman, Author, CEO, Co-Founder
An excerpt from the book’s forward, by Aoife Mac Namara:
Win, win, win, recognizes that creativity and culture play a central role in supporting local economies and talent, health and well-being. It illustrates how together in all our diversity we – children, youth, adults and seniors – have been flourishing in our creativity and have been strengthened in our work by partnerships with business, communities and local and national government. Working together we are opening up new avenues of expression and ways of working in art and culture. Together our diverse and inclusive perspective is helping change the way we think about who museums, libraries and arts organizations are for, and, in so doing we are improving the lives of people everywhere
Understanding of the role of culture in building and sustaining communities is at the heart of the work included in Win, Win, Win.
The artists help us focus on what matters to all of us, and why. The artists included here benefit from being part of a wider cultural community at a point when Canada is redefining our internal relationships and our relationships with the world. Canada’s diverse cultural perspectives and culture are a national asset and gives us a unique international advantage, encouraging us to converse and collaborate freely across generations, geographies and abilities.
The work included here illustrates some of the significant differences in what art and culture mean to different people, in different places and from across all stages of life. The diversity in the work here challenges the idea that art is only associated with a particular style of visual arts, or with what are often called ‘high art’ forms. Instead what the art in Win, Win, Win shows is that there are many ways to make art and have an active cultural life, and that people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds value the opportunity to have an active cultural life.
– Aoife Mac Namara, President of Nova Scotia College of Art and Design 2020
Win, Win, Win: The 18 Inclusion-isms You Need To Become A Disability Confident Employer is available online for pre-order NOW. Click here to order yours today.
