Join storyteller Kim Kilpatrick and visual artist Rachel Gray for a screening of Behind Every Door, followed by an artist talk and conversation about storytelling, disability arts, accessibility, and the role of art in healthcare.
Behind Every Door follows Kim and her guide dog Ginger as they journey through a palliative care unit, listening to stories from patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Through hand-painted oil animation on glass and built-in audio description, the film creates an intimate meditation on listening, connection, death, and dying.
The film grew out of an ongoing collaboration between Kim and Rachel, whose work brings together storytelling, visual art, disability arts, and accessible creative practices. Created in collaboration with the Isenberg Lab and Bruyère Health, Behind Every Door explores how the arts can create space for experiences and perspectives that are often underrepresented, particularly around death and dying.
Following the screening, Kim and Rachel will discuss the making of the film, including their collaboration with the medical research team, the process of collecting and working with stories from the palliative care unit, and Rachel's hand-painted oil animation process. They will also share their approach to creating audio description as an integral part of the artwork, and discuss how disability arts and accessibility have shaped and expanded their creative practice.
The conversation will consider what art can offer us in difficult moments, the role of storytelling in healthcare, and how accessible creative practices can open up new artistic possibilities.
Following the talk, audiences are invited to continue the conversation with Kim and Rachel, sharing their responses to the film and reflecting together on how we listen to one another, to ourselves, and to the stories that surround us.