Robyn Rennie: A Discussion on Blindness Arts, Disability Culture, and Creative Approaches

Meet Robyn Rennie, an artist centering blindness arts, disability culture, and creative approaches to audio description and sensory access. Rennie’s exhibition, SEEING BEYOND, previously presented at the Orillia Museum of Art and History includes paintings, each accompanied by a life-size tactile replica and custom-built audio device. Attendees who are blind or with low vision are invited to explore the tactile surface while listening to Rennie's own authored description of the work. With the goal of supporting broader uptake across galleries and museums, Rennie has made the device schematics open source and co-developed, “Artcessible,” a QR-based smartphone app for accessing audio description, while continuing to critically examine the economic and material barriers embedded in mainstream tech solutions. This event explores: Blindness arts as a generative cultural framework rather than an accommodation model Audio description as a creative, interpretive, and aesthetic practice The design and fabrication of tactile replicas and dedicated audio devices Open-source access technologies and questions of affordability and infrastructure -- Registration, through the Toronto Public Library site, is encouraged. Doors open at 5:30pm for attendees to explore paintings. At 6:00pm, Rennie will discuss their practice, the exhibition and devices in use, and how more public institutions can integrate disability-led technological innovation into their programming. This program is produced by Ontario Culture Days in collaboration with Tangled Art + Disability as Producing Partner and Toronto Public Library. This program is supported by the City of Toronto. Ontario Culture Days is a province-wide festival made possible through the support of its foundational partners, the Province of Ontario and the Ontario Arts Council. We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.