Chelsea Jones is trying to change the world, one online space at a time, by building a hub for young content creators with disabilities.<\/p>\n
The Access Imaginarium: Crip Futures Studio aims to reconceptualize equity and digital accessibility \u201cas an artful, aesthetic, community-engaged, and youth-led cultural practice,\u201d says the Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies.<\/p>\n
The Studio is one of the initiatives Jones aims to pursue in her research program, \u201cReshaping Digital Access in Childhood and Disability Media Studies,\u201d as recipient of Brock\u2019s 2025 Chancellor\u2019s Chair for Research Excellence.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Jones\u2019s research goes far beyond merely meeting legal requirements to make digital content accessible to everyone,\u201d says Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon. \u201cBy positioning disabled youth as experts of content creation and training, Dr. Jones and her team are transforming the online space into one that emphasizes insight, agency and autonomy over messaging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones envisions the Studio as a hub where youth and scholars with disabilities from around the world can connect with one another to design accessible media, experiment with immersive arts, provide training, and advocate for policies and education that make online spaces accessible to all.<\/p>\n
Steering the process is an advisory committee of youth with disabilities who will give direction on the project\u2019s creation and implementation, especially since these content creators are often not properly acknowledged for their work, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe relationship building is based on justice and premised on the idea that accessibility is not just a compliance-based kind of afterthought, but an iterative creative process that young disabled people are deeply involved in,\u201d says Jones.<\/p>\n
Accessible media<\/a>\u00a0refers to movies, television shows, videos, websites and other content that have been modified using measures such as closed captioning, sign language, transcripts and audio descriptions.<\/p>\n