The Vancouver Art Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition calle, “NEXT: Provisional Structures” by Carmen Papalia with co-conspirators. This is the twentieth installment in a series of Artist Projects from the Pacific Rim. It is a unique, thought provoking exhibition that encourage people to discuss issues regarding the troubling practices of “cultural ableism.” His artwork puts the focus on disability cultures in spaces where people from the broader disability community are underrepresented.

Carmen Papalia with the help of Rebel Fayola Rose, Sharona Franklin, Catherine Frazee, Gabrielle Peters and Heather Kai Smith have created this exhibition that is site-centered to bring awareness and insight for Collective care and Disability justice. The exhibition features an accessible structure where various perspectives and narratives from the contemporary disability movement is introduced. By creating a space like this in the gallery, it provides people to interact and imagine different viewpoints in a creative and safe space. The exhibiton also features a programming space where workshops can be held to enable an interactive experience for people. There is also a resource library and contributions from other artists that help with igniting different significant ideas that can be used to initiate a thought provoking conversation amongst people in the gallery.

In addition to this, the gallery is conducting a “Disability Justice Dreaming Session” on January 20^th where the artist, Rebel Fayola Rose, who happens to be the founder of Disability Justice Dreaming will be hosting 5 DJ Dreaming sessions. These sessions’ purpose is to provide participants with an opportunity to come up with an imaginative and optimistic type of world for those who may be experiencing ableism. This creative approach to sessions encourages collective thoughts about a community and its needs. It’s also a refreshing way of connecting people together with a common topic in mind. Experiencing an environment like this is a fascinating method to spark a conversation about a sensitive topic like disability justice.