CONTEMPORARY SIGNING

Project Origins

Following her work with groups experiencing disabilities and hearing loss at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, PHI Foundation educator Amanda Beattie launched Contemporary Signing in 2021 as a pilot project.

Already aware of the challenges faced by D/deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, Amanda aimed to focus on this community by promoting accessibility in the PHI Foundation’s education program.

The mission of the PHI Foundation's Education department is to make contemporary art accessible to all. We use the term “accessibility” in its broadest sense: enabling individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to feel welcome and to recognize the value of their experiences within our exhibitions. Our educational approach is grounded in respect and dialogue, both with our audience and within our team.

ASL and LSQ Courses

In Canada, two primary sign languages are used: American Sign Language (ASL) in Anglophone Deaf communities, and Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) in the Francophone communities of Québec and New Brunswick.

To foster better dialogue with these audiences, the Education department began taking sign language courses. During the 2021 pilot project, Amanda began collaborating with Seeing Voices Montréal, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between D/deaf and hearing individuals, particularly in the English-speaking ASL community.

The Education team, along with some of the Foundation’s Visitor Experience Coordinators, undertook a series of basic ASL courses taught by a Deaf instructor, Lisa from Seeing Voices Montréal.

In 2024, the PHI Foundation partnered with Eversa to provide introductory LSQ courses for the Education and Visitor Experience teams. These courses were taught by another Deaf instructor, Marie-Pierre Petit.

Creative Workshop: Share your dot of love with Pamela Witcher

Alongside the ASL-interpreted guided tour of Yayoi Kusama: DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE in 2022, 40 participants had the opportunity to take part in the creative workshop Share your dot of love, led by Deaf artist Pamela Witcher. Two sessions were offered: one in ASL with English interpretation, and the second in LSQ with French interpretation. Witcher discussed her artistic practice and her interest in Yayoi Kusama’s message of love and peace through art. She drew inspiration from Kusama’s recurring motif of dots, seen as forms of connection, as well as the unique poses that the artist assumes in photos in front of her works. These poses particularly resonated with Witcher, who communicates through sign language.

Both Open House sessions were fully booked, with waitlists. They provided a unique opportunity for D/deaf and hearing individuals to connect and share through art. The workshops designed by Witcher allowed participants to create together in a spirit of solidarity and mutual inspiration. All participants were open to explore, and were motivated to create collectively. The messages of love and peace conveyed by Kusama were fully felt and shared throughout this time spent together.