When Sarah Huffman had the chance to engage with the community as part of her INTA 210: The Arts in Culture course, she knew just what to pitch to her teammates – a project that would help bridge the communication gap between artistic professionals of differing abilities.

“As an artist and an arts manager, I knew I wanted to find a way to integrate a basic understanding of American Sign Language into our organizations,” says the future Bachelor of Fine Arts student who is also general manager of Rapid Fire Theatre.

Working with her classmates in the pilot interdisciplinary course for MacEwan’s new Bachelor of Fine Arts program, Huffman set the groundwork for a collaborative workshop and networking space called HANDSHAKE to provide American Sign Language training. They connected with members in the arts industry and arranged a panel discussion to look at accessibility issues.

“To me, this is about looking at ways we can keep ourselves, as arts organizations, accountable for our inclusivity and accessibility efforts,” says Huffman. 

While the course may have ended, her work on HANDSHAKE will continue. She is currently working to identify a few collaborators and seeking funding. Huffman’s long-term goal? Establish a structured training program that would become a part of arts organizations’ onboarding activities – so that someone working in a box office or a gallery would have been trained and have enough knowledge of ASL to communicate with people who are coming into that space.

“There is so much opportunity to make a difference,” she says. “This course challenged us to make a real impact in our community, and I’m excited to continue doing just that.”