Speaker 1 00:01:01 Thank you for joining disability and progress, where we bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of this show. Thanks so much for tuning in. I think we're on Charlene dollars. My research team. Hello, Charlene evening, everyone. Jackson buck does my engineer, trustee Jackson. Hello. And, um, we have a couple of guests on with us tonight. I want to remind you briefly that if you want to be on my email list, you may email
[email protected] and you can find out what's coming up. You can also suggest anything you'd like to be hearing on the show pertaining to disabilities. Of course, tonight we have Anthony Saldana, uh, Anthony and Jason. Oh, Jason. I'm so sorry. I'm going to have you pronounce your last name. Figuera okay. Thank you. I knew I'd mess it up. Um, figure up. So Anthony, um, is a producer and director of a documentary we'll be talking about and, uh, Jason is the co-producer and we're going to be talking about this documentary called straight off the canvas and straight off the canvas is a documentary that profiles visually impaired artists or art teachers and artists. So thank you both for being on the show. Well, thank
Speaker 2 00:02:33 You so much for having us. Thank you. It is a, a coup it's raining here in New York city. Uh, but, uh, it was really exciting to, to be on your show this evening and to be with you, uh, Sam.
Speaker 1 00:02:49 Thank you. And we have Anthony with us as well.
Speaker 2 00:02:54 Yes. Uh, Jake, you have Jason with you. He rang it.
Speaker 1 00:02:59 All right. So any phones in the background, I'm going to pretend they're not happening. Okay. So I want to start out by learning a little bit about you guys. And do you do either one or both of you have disabilities? And if so, would you want to talk a little bit about that?
Speaker 2 00:03:17 Sure. Um,
Speaker 1 00:03:19 I'll tell you why. So people
Speaker 2 00:03:21 Absolutely. Uh, this is Anthony Saldana. Um, while I don't have a visual impairment, I, uh, had an accident, uh, almost 10 years ago. Uh, I'm kind of accident prone, uh, and, uh, the accident really affected, uh, my back and my neck. So I have, uh, some, uh, bulged disc and herniations in my neck and my, my lower back. And, you know, I, I live with unfortunate, uh, chronic pain is something that I've, um, struggled with, especially early on. Cause I, I didn't realize that when you injure your back, that it's something that, you know, it's a chronic, it's something that you have to do physical therapy every single day to maintain, uh, cause I do live in like a chronic pain. And so I just, I w I've worked for many years to try to get into a level where I'm uncomfortable with, you know, and, uh, my buddy Jason, over here carries the heavy, uh, appointment, but, uh, Jason also has some issues that w and it's not funny, but we, it, this, what we're about, you know, w the issue that I, I just explained to you happen, uh, when I was 26 and my, my buddy Jason, over here has some issues around the same time that, um, you know, I had my accident and Jason could tell you more about his issue.
Speaker 2 00:04:59 Okay.
Speaker 3 00:05:00 Yeah. So, um, I do have a disability, it's a mental disorder called obsessive compulsive disorder. And like Anthony had said, um, I had lived with it my entire life, but it didn't become a disorder until I was 26. So, um, I do live with a mental disorder and, um, you know, it's, it's, it's not easy, but it can be challenging sometimes, but, uh, other times, you know, it's, it's not so bad. So, um, I have my good days and my bad days, uh, but, um, you know, for someone with a physical disability email, um, this, this film really provided an insight for me, you know, to understand what it is to have, um, someone who is physically disabled, you know,
Speaker 1 00:05:55 So I'm curious, Jason, when I think of obsessive compulsive, I think of somebody who's like doing something over and over and over till it's perfect. That's just one of the things, is that really true? Or is that just a
Speaker 3 00:06:12 Basically, um, you're doing something over and over again, and you know, it's not going to really do anything for you, but it's just to manage your anxiety until your anxiety goes down.
Speaker 1 00:06:25 That's all, that's
Speaker 3 00:06:26 The whole purpose of doing those things.
Speaker 1 00:06:29 Yeah. How did that play into you? Co-producing the film? Was it really hard to get past something you thought was not quite up to your standards?
Speaker 3 00:06:41 Um, no. Believe it or not. Um, when I'm focused on film, it's like my disorder can become like a blessing and it doesn't, it doesn't go that far, but it still manages to give me a sense of detail when I'm on my, when I'm doing my work and focused. And, um, it, it only happens when I'm, you know, it only becomes a problem when I'm doing mundane things like, oh, I got I'm about to leave my apartment. I got to walk back and check and see if the door is locked. You know, um, when I'm, when I'm doing normal, things like that, then it really comes into play. But when I'm doing my work, while I'm doing this kind of work, it's, it's sort of like an advantage.
Speaker 2 00:07:29 I mean, earlier on, uh, I didn't, as, as his friend, um, first and foremost, I didn't understand what he meant by saying, I have obsessive compulsive disorder. Cause you know, you you're like, oh, okay. But let's, let's seriously. Let's, let's, let's hang out, let's spend some time together. Let's talk about, you know, life. And I, I didn't really understand, you know, what my friend was going through. And, um, only until he showed me video footage years later of, uh, that, uh, experience that he had in his life. But, uh, you know, you don't realize what someone's going through until like, sometimes you just have to see it, unfortunately like for Jason, like he, he, well, not, not unfortunately, but he, you know, Jason lives with his parents and they were such a tremendous help with his recovery. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 00:08:27 Now, Jason, you, um, have done films and things like that, but like, Anthony, did you have, is this your first or have you done films before?
Speaker 2 00:08:37 It's it's not my first, um, basically when I, when Jason and I met in college and, uh, when I got out of college, I was doing some work in PR. Uh, I had, I realized very early on, you know, I would need to get a day job in order to import my art for my love. And, um, so while I was at work, my brain started to wonder, uh, wander around. And I started thinking to myself, I wonder how blind people perceive art. And by asking myself that question, I just started doing some research. And I, I picked up a book and the book was called or ordinary daylight. And a book to me was really a profound, uh, piece of, you know, uh, autobiography of, uh, the author was Andrew Potok. And, uh, it was, it just really touched me. And I realized that not many blind people are stories are told on television or film from the first person's perspective. So I w I set out to do a documentary called, uh, you know, we're ordinary people. And I reached out to the national Federation of the blind in my community, in New York city. And they were really welcoming in, uh, let me do a documentary about them because I realized that I really needed to, um, to tell a story, tell firstly, tell a story about what the community needs. And then, and then after that project was completed, I can do straight off the canvas about visually impaired artists.
Speaker 1 00:10:24 So this certainly was not your first bout of doing a documentary on people with disabilities. Um, what made you choose blind people of all the disabilities? There are a lot of them talk about what that was that called to you.
Speaker 2 00:10:45 Uh, once, uh, uh, basically, I mean, the idea of a, a painting in like a three or two dimensional art. And I was just thinking about like artists and what if you lost your vision and how can you proceed? And, uh, from, from just asking that curious question, I, I'm glad that I asked that question because like I met some really wonderful artists, like really great artists here in New York city. And, um, you know, the, the point of the documentary really is that it, you know, you can be an artist with no matter what, you know, art is not just about being able to see the work that you're creating is, you know, you can be able to create it's, uh, it's about really, you know, using your soul to, you know, express yourself.
Speaker 1 00:11:46 So can we talk about where this documentary was based out of? It was based out of, um, you chose to particular school for the blind in New York. Why did you choose there? Is that, was it because they had an art program or why?
Speaker 2 00:12:02 Sure, sure. So, um, I have to backtrack because, uh, the initial, my, my, um, the initial, so the main subject of the documentary is Elizabeth Castillano and she is an amazing artist. And, uh, she was born visually impaired and I'm legally blind. And when she was 13 years old, she had surgery. So she regained some, some vision. Um, so from there, she went into college and majored in art and art education. So she was a, uh, licensed teacher in New York city. Uh, sometimes during production, uh, life, uh, circumstances can completely change. And that would for all the, you know, the course of the documentary and what happened was, uh, Elizabeth had a workplace accident that forced her to retire. So in this happened before we, we started to pray to Purdue to pick up the camera. So just in, in recap here, I had a back injury, my co-producer got OCD and my, the star of the documentary had an accident and I'm supposed to go film her in the, in the classroom, but she's no longer in the classroom.
Speaker 2 00:13:34 So based on, on that situation, I really still wanted to show art in the classroom. So by doing extensive research, trying to find, uh, schools that, that had an art program, I found a Lavelle school for the blind and Jessica Jones. And it was just a wonderful blessing in this, you know, that took a very long time for me to, to be able to get into the classroom. And I'm glad that the, that the school was able to give me permission as well as the parents. And, uh, Jessica at the time was working with her students to, uh, put together an art show. And she was, uh, teaching her students all different types of art, that re and one thing that, uh, Jessica's students was, was interesting, um, is that we couldn't interview her students, not because they, uh, they didn't want to, to be interviewed is most of them had verbal issues and con so, so Jessica used the art to teach her students life lessons that would help them, you know, in other areas of their lot of their life and, and studies. So we, we followed, uh, the, the classes all the way up until the art show that they had in their school for the community
Speaker 1 00:15:16 Hearing. If any of them talked about this, oh, you know, when I was growing up, I, I spent some time and knew others who spent time in, um, elementary schools and junior high. And art just, wasn't one of those things that you did when you were visually impaired, like music, which is part of the arts. Um, you could, you know, um, even, I, I know somebody took a graphic arts class, but, uh, just painting and drawing. Wasn't a real typical thing. Do you feel that that's changed now that there's more arts being hap you know, offered to people who are visually impaired?
Speaker 2 00:15:56 I think that there are, are certainly some challenges, not only, um, for visually impaired, just in general there. And that's something that I bring up in the documentary that, that sometimes for just education in urban communities, that the arts is losing funding and, you know, but, um, you know, I, I, one of the points of the film is that, you know, you can have, have students, you know, who are visually impaired and, and do art program. The only thing is there has to be funding for the, for the program, because I know that there that in some, um, some districts and S you know, like the arts are always the first one to be cut because they're not going to cut in math.
Speaker 1 00:16:59 Yeah. Um, Jason, what part did you PR that do play in co-producing this?
Speaker 3 00:17:07 Um, I played a role in almost every part, actually, because from the research and development phase, I was helping Anthony build ideas and help him weave together a storyline for this documentary when we were out there. Um, I was helping him film and, um, giving him some of the footage to edit, and whenever he would edit some sequences together, we'd go over it. We'd look over and say, all right, does this make sense? What can fit here? What can we, how, how, how best can we, um, improve, uh, the storyline in this sequence? And so I basically had my, in almost every aspect of this film, including, uh, getting it out there to the world. And, uh, what a blessing it's been to have been to have been involved with this film. It's, it's been an amazing journey and it's still going on.
Speaker 1 00:18:03 Who did the audio description?
Speaker 2 00:18:07 Hi, I think I, uh, so, uh, now I did the audio description. I thought it was important to be able to, uh, with, with the subject. I, I was able to write it and, you know, and I performed the audio description. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:18:25 Did you have any training or ask anybody how it should be done or did you, what, how, how did you get a sense of what people would need to know who couldn't see this screen?
Speaker 2 00:18:36 So I did watch watch some, some documentaries or some movies, and just take some notes in terms of how the audio describer would talk slowly and, you know, describe what is on the screen. But I also, um, you know, we have a, a, uh, we interviewed an executive at the, the art beyond sight, which is an amazing non-profit organization that works to, uh, help make museums more accessible and not only in New York city, but, uh, throughout the country and, you know, internationally. And, uh, you know, Elizabeth axle was really, um, helpful in, you know, saying to me, Anthony, you don't need to hire an audio describer. I have faith in you. And, uh, you know, I, Jason and I had been taking audio like, um, voiceover classes, and this is something that we've like, I've done acting classes, like in like, uh, improv classes. That's what I do for fun, for, um, fun, you know, when I'm not producing directing. So, um, this is the first documentary that I, I did audio description for, and I've, I've heard a lot of positive feedback.
Speaker 1 00:20:03 So I'm wondering what, um, your experience was before this documentary, seeing art from visually impaired people. Like, did you have experience actually seeing visually impaired people's art or was this kind of the first time you walked into it? This was
Speaker 2 00:20:20 The first time I walked into it. This was me trying to, like, on just that question, going back to the initial idea of, I wonder how a blind people perceive art, and then you re I re reached out to Elizabeth and she was such a kind person I want to, would love to film your classroom. And she goes, sure, come on down. And unfortunately, I wasn't able to do it before she had her accident, but this was really my, my first, uh, I mean, of course I did research before doing the, you know, star in the film, but I'm, so, you know, once you, once I met Elizabeth, then we had, you know, she was really excited. I, I knew that I had to, um, complete this journey of, of not only sharing this, this really interesting or, you know, to sharing the passion of other artists, because I must, you know, I it's, it's so important how art can be a therapeutic, you know, film sort of film, uh, Lizabeth, uh, painting as her therapy was therapeutic for myself and Jason, you
Speaker 1 00:21:47 Know, I think there's a lot more of that kind of thing going on now, there's, you know, the music therapy, art therapy, do you have a sense of, and I want to know how you, your thoughts about how people see, you know, blind or visually impaired artists, not in, in music because obviously music, uh, it speaks for itself. You can hear it, but you can see it, and I'm sure you see the difference. Um, and you know, if you just pull up a painting from someone, but what are your thoughts, like, do you feel there is that the public views, people who are disabilities, you know, have visual disabilities differently when they're doing visual arts?
Speaker 2 00:22:32 It's funny, uh, was not funny, but I S w w once again, doing the research, I found recently within the last couple of months, I've found a, a BBC, uh, a BBC, uh, newscast where they would talking about a blind artists. I actually, the blind artists was featured in our film as a cameo, but we, I didn't interview him, but I, I vividly remembered the BBC saying that his seeming defect was, was actually, uh, helped him have a power. And I think that verbiage does not help the, the artists, because first of all, it's not, you know, saying he's deaf, seemingly yes, it is not, you know, respectful. And second of all, his ability and talent to be able to touch an object and, uh, and then draw that object is not a power. It's the men's, you know, gift it's his talent, you know, and I think that that's, that is a problem, you know, like, I, I highly doubt that you would call, you know, if you had the ability to draw something magnificent, magnificent, and you'd get it in, in a, in a museum that, that the teachers and that are going through the, you know, the museum or the dosing, or, uh, you know, the, the journalists walking through the museum would say, wow, you know, that, that artist has some great power with the brush, you know?
Speaker 2 00:24:29 So, um, uh, the reason why I bring that all up is that, you know, it kind of hurts the artist and it's, and that's what I, what I tried not to do. So I tried to my best, while I did the audio description, the, the, I tried to keep my voice out and have the artists tell their own story.
Speaker 3 00:25:04 And I'd like to say that, um, you know, with, uh, with what, Anthony, just to kind of back up what he's saying, um, when we were filming, um, our subjects, one of the common things we had noticed, uh, that they had brought up rather was that some students, especially when they're taking art and they're visually impaired, um, they would have an immense concern with, am I doing this wrong? Yes. In a sense of wrong isn't there it's been ingrained into them that you're doing it wrong. And if I go off the paper, I've messed up the whole thing, even in art therapy. And, you know, they would have to say, no, even if you go off the paper, you are, even if you go straight off the canvas, you're literally doing art. That's the point you're participating in art. And they had to try to get students to understand that concept, that there wasn't really a wrong way of doing it. But that way of thinking was, so was so much a part of their lives that the, I, you know, asking that question became like a reflex for them basically,
Speaker 1 00:26:16 You know, and I wonder if that's part of teaching the student to think outside the box, and that's what art is all about in some ways, unless you're doing a realistic portrait or painting or drawing of someone. Um, a lot of times there is that, you know, ambiguous art. And if it's hard to get, to bring that up, I would think if you're, if you always have a sense of, am I doing wrong? I wonder you guys did, where did this documentary show, like, did you get to show it anywhere in particular?
Speaker 2 00:26:50 Um, last year or earlier this year, we, we distributed just on a local market just to get a feel of how it would be received in New York city. So it aired in Manhattan, neighborhood network, Queens, public television, Bronx, net, and CUNY television. Um, and it was well received. I, I wish I knew the numbers of how many people actually watched it, but I could tell you that, uh, on July 17th, uh, we will be, uh, having a, a virtual screening at the ACBS convention, which will be happening, um, in, in, in almost a week or very, uh, two weeks, excuse me, and really excited about that.
Speaker 1 00:27:40 Is that only, excuse me, is that only happening at ACBS convention? Is it happening at NFP too?
Speaker 2 00:27:46 Uh, no, we're not going to, I really tried to get it to NFV. It didn't make the schedule, but we're still working on NF, working with NFB to see how we can get it out to, uh, you know, their members. But as of now, we're, we definitely have a screening on, on the 17th at, uh, with the ACBS convention. So anybody listening to this would love to check it out. You just go to acb.org.
Speaker 1 00:28:12 What did you want people to take from this documentary?
Speaker 2 00:28:18 First of all, um, the there's many lessons in one, um, one would be that you can be visually impaired or have any type of disability and still be an artist. And not only that, not only that, but you can also be a teacher and you can teach your, your passion to people who have a disability who's blind or doesn't have a disability. I think that there is a, a lesson in the documentary that I hope that people will get is that as long as proper modifications are put into place, people with disabilities can do any type of work. So I have a montage in the film where, uh, Elisabeth's pretty much says that statement. And, uh, as she's talking, I have five pictures. The first picture is of a blind mechanic. The second picture is of a blind ballerina. The third picture is of a blind doctor. The fourth picture is of a blind judge. And the fifth picture is of a blind martial artists holding up a sword, you know, I'm ready, ready to kick some butt. So, uh, that's really one of the big messages of the film, you know, that, and also that not only can that block, excuse me, that art can be therapeutic. And because, because of that, therapeutic value is really important that museum has become, are accessible to everyone in the community. So that was pretty much, you know, the message
Speaker 1 00:30:06 I would like to hear, like what each one of you two took from the, you know, doing the document and knowing you set it up kind of in a position that you knew what you kind of wanted people to get from it. Right. But what did you to take from it that you hadn't kind of learned already?
Speaker 2 00:30:27 And you want to start with that?
Speaker 3 00:30:29 Of course. Um, uh, one of the things I took was that art does not have to be a visual medium. Only when we think of art, we tend to just think of, you know, a painting that you need to see with your eyes, this film, shatters that consent, that misconception that you need physical sight in order to enjoy art. Art goes beyond, I would say even our five senses sometimes, you know, all the time right there. And I think that in a way, um, this film shows not only that it is possible to have art, um, that people without physical sight can have, uh, can produce art, but it shows you the procedure of how they make that art. When we're, when you're watching that, uh, sequence with Elizabeth painting, you're seeing her as an artist. She's, she's not just, you know, some, uh, visually impaired, it's a, it's not just, oh, she's visually impaired artist. She's an artist period. When you see her grab that brush and apply color to that painting, she's an artist. And this is one of the most important things I walked away with from that film, you know, and what a beautiful lesson to, to really bring to our community. You know? So I'm going to hand it over to Anthony to talk about, you know, what he learned from, from, from this incredible job.
Speaker 2 00:31:59 Uh, I think the most important thing I walked away with are lifelong friends that, you know, cause I think that, uh, Elizabeth and Jessica and Sarah and Elizabeth axle, really the journey to get this completed, this project would complete. It was so long. And, uh, you know, I know we only have an hour, but like we went through a lot Sam to produce this. And Elizabeth was as been so kind throughout the entire. And um, so what did I take away from this is, you know, when Jason talks about how she is an artist, you know, when she's painting, she basically said I'm going to be an artist to the day I die. And to me that is so inspirational. And I think that that was the, the motivation to I'm like, all right, I'm going to, I'm an artist to the day I died too. And we're gonna, we're gonna complete this story guys. You know, like we it's been a long journey. I mean, from almost from almost being laid off at my day jobs. So then having to find another day job to us, both, you know, losing members of the family to, you know, just life, the law a lot has changed over the last 10 years, but we've, you know, worked on this film to hopefully be able to, you know, share it with the world. And so, yeah, that's pretty much what I've gotten out of it.
Speaker 1 00:33:46 I wonder I'm just an opinion of, um, I don't know what I really want you to save to this, or if you do know anything to say, but it's kind of, one of the, my thoughts are, you know, sometimes when I see artists do art, um, disability, disabled, or otherwise, I see them do like bill hold their own art show. And now that in itself is not unusual or anything else because you see people holding their art shows their own art shows if they're dis if they have a disability or if they don't. But sometimes what strikes me is that when people have disabilities, they, they form their shows. They might form a big show with all artists, you know, who have disabilities. Um, and I always wondered about that if that actually pigeonholes them or if it's even tougher on them as an artist to do that because, so what are you saying, are you saying you're not as good as a general artist or a person out there that is doing the same thing you are? And I, it occurred to me that I don't know if they're doing it because, you know, they don't, they're afraid that the general public doesn't see them that way, or it's just something I had thought. And I'm wondering if you guys had any insight or thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 00:35:12 Um, I, we, we did go to one of Elisabeth's, um, you know, shows that she did, that was our first shoot of the first day of production. And, um, she was showing us a painting she did of her daughter and, uh, she turns us, and she says, I don't put, uh, these types of paintings in my shows because, you know, I, she likes to do like, um, more of a repres, like, uh, I'm sorry, I can't remember the word right now. Um, but she likes to do different styles of painting. And because she feels like doing a portrait would reveal herself as a visually impaired artist. So people would judge it, uh, judge it, uh, it's not as good. So it's something that, that Elizabeth certainly, uh, it certainly crosses her mind. Uh, Elizabeth I does, does have her show does have shows, you know, in her community with, with, with, you know, artists that are in the regular community that aren't disabled. So, you know, I, I understand your question. I, uh, you know, I think that there's a positive side to that type of, of, uh, workshop, like I'm sorry, screen, um, art show, but then I, I don't, because I'm not an artist myself. I can, I hear where you're coming from, how it, you know, the long-term effects of being labeled as that. And, you know, I, you know,
Speaker 3 00:37:07 I think also for, um, uh, one of the other things we filmed was the art show at the Lavelle school for the blind. And they had an art show from students with, um, multiple different disabilities. And there were multiple different students showing their work, showing all their, their kinds of work at that art show. And I think, you know, for me personally, I can only speak for myself personally, that made it more powerful because you got an insight into that person, into that artist themselves. A piece of themselves was on display at that art show. And it gave such a variety of perspectives that, um, it was like walking into a Manhattan art gallery. And you look at this, you look at some of the artists, uh, pieces by different artists and you say, well, what were they trying to say through this, this art piece you walk into here?
Speaker 3 00:38:04 And it's the same thing, you know, but you get such a variety of insights. And so, you know, for me, I don't personally, I don't think it would be problematic for the sole reason that it's, you know, it's not seeing them as visually impaired artists, but seeing them as a collective of different people, putting different, um, messages on display. And I think it adds more of a variety to that show, you know, and I think that's what they're kind of looking for. You know, that's what I would believe that they're looking for. You know, cause when I went into that art show, I'll never forget it. Um, when I looked at some of the work that kids did and talking to them about their pieces, that their pieces were very personal to them. So there were, some of them were, were inspired by people who made a difference in their lives. Um, so I would say that having a variety of people, um, is probably a better characteristic to go for because you get to really get a sense of, um, those people as individual artists, you know, it's all about that person, you know, giving a piece of themselves on, on display, you know? So I think that them working with other artists, you know, wouldn't be too much of a problem.
Speaker 1 00:39:34 I wonder. Um, if you guys just in your personal experience, you know, as you said, Anthony art is one of the first things to be cut, oftentimes in schools, how important do you feel like it is to have art in school? Wow. I mean, okay.
Speaker 2 00:40:00 Uh, when I was in high, I'm going to say when I was in high school, uh, I during, so I took art in high school during the first semester. And then from third, from like second semester on, I had no, no art and that's when like, oh, okay. So I, I went to like a technical school and, uh, which was, uh, at the time I was not happy about it. Cause like I have this creative spirit and I'm working with screwdrivers and I, I learned that I, I will never be a technician after high school, but it was such a blessing because I met besides Jason, cause I didn't meet Jason in high school. Uh, some of my best friends, um, you know, in life, um, arts is so important because you know, it's, it's a way to express yourself and just to get a creative outlet for someone who's not ha you know, in my case, not happy being a technician with my screwdriver, you know, I could have dropped out, but I didn't.
Speaker 2 00:41:16 Uh, because I, I waited and I knew that once I got to college that I was free and I, and uh, I was grateful that my, my parents said, okay, we'll pay for your education. You can take what you want, but please just, just choose something that will get you a afterwards. And I said, I'm going into media, so, okay, well we still support you, but yeah, no, I think it's, it's, it's really important. And uh, you know, I'm happy that I actually worked for the public schools in New York city. Not, not as a teacher, but on the clear on the admin side. So at least I'm somewhere in, in the mix of it. But yeah, I am, I am so pro arts in the classroom and I asked you a question before, before we continue. Cause, um, I have, I have just one, I was just curious about something. Okay. So Sam, like tell me how you got this radio station radio show started. I'm just fascinated. I saw your website. I was, I had to be on your show and I'm really excited to be here. Well, we
Speaker 1 00:42:27 Appreciate you coming on. You are the people that make the show go because without you guys, we don't have anybody to talk to. So like I can't take the credit for starting the show. The show was started a long time ago. Uh, somebody who, uh, was named Martha and she was a wheelchair user and she started it because she was inspired by a conference. And so when she started it, she ran it for 10 years and I was her engineer. And then after that, she stepped down and gave it to me. And so then I have been running it since and, um, have brought Charlene aboard and you know, it's, it's been a fun ride. It's it's, uh, you learn something every day from people like you, and this was a lot of fun dental to watch your documentary. So thank you for that. And I think that contributes to, you know, society and what people need to see for different disabilities, that, that they can do a lot of different things.
Speaker 1 00:43:35 And there's probably not enough of that out there, um, in a good light, but also I hope you guys can get the documentaries, you know, pushed around, um, in various places because I think sometimes they get caught in the, you know, the artsy documentaries, do you know what I'm talking about? And then they kind of sit there and then enough people that need to see them, don't get to see them. So hopefully you'll be able to show the documentary and many other places and have that be a success. Um, I'm wondering, did you have anything else, any other comments in regards to the document theory there, anything that you wanted to to make sure people knew about? Sure.
Speaker 2 00:44:27 Um, we're still working on our website until, uh, we had the website up and running. Uh, you can follow us on Twitter at, at straight canvas. Uh, we're also on Facebook at facebook.com/straight canvas. Um, you know, and this, this film we've been working on, uh, for over 10 years, uh, and, uh, it has been one of the, one of the greatest experiences of my life. And, uh, you know, I, when I got out of college, I wanted to get a master's degree and, uh, you know, through this film, I got my master's degree and, uh, you know, I'm, I'm very grateful to have a partner like Jason to come on this, this bride.
Speaker 1 00:45:16 Well, congratulations to both of you in regards to this documentary. And thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 00:45:23 Oh, thank you, Sam. Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 1 00:45:26 You're welcome. This has been disability and progress. The views expressed on the show are not necessarily those of cafe or its board of directors. My name is Sam. I've been those to the show. Jackson buck was my engineer, Charlene. Bell's my research team. We've been speaking with Anthony Saldana and Jason fig figure feed gay row. Pick a rock, freaking rah, rah. Okay. I am so sorry. Before they came on to talk about their documentary. That was, um, they've been doing straight off the canvas and if people want to see straight off the canvas, how can they see it? You guys besides ACB? Can they see it anywhere else?
Speaker 2 00:46:10 Okay, well, I don't have an answer yet. Um, like I said, you can follow us on at street canvas and, uh, we will have more news upcoming until then. You'd be, like I said, you can, uh, you know, see it at the ACB convention on July 17th.
Speaker 1 00:46:28 Excellent. Thank you very much. And we appreciate you guys being here. Good night.
