Oscar-winning actress Rachel Shenton has launched an innovative video podcast series called “Shaping Tomorrow,” designed to celebrate diversity and amplify deaf voices. The four-part series features fascinating conversations between deaf and hearing professionals, including a deaf architect discussing design with Wayne Hemingway and a deaf make-up artist sharing experiences with her hearing counterpart. The project is particularly noteworthy for its accessibility, offering both subtitles and British Sign Language (BSL) translation, and was created with a 90% deaf production team through Shenton’s social enterprise, Hear Art.
The series aims to bridge gaps and challenge misconceptions about the deaf community while showcasing remarkable talent across various industries. Featured guest Nicky Weir, a successful make-up artist who has worked with major fashion brands and celebrities, highlights how recent inclusion of BSL in mainstream television shows like Strictly Come Dancing and Paralympics coverage represents positive progress in visibility. The series debuted on Hear Art’s YouTube channel, with new episodes releasing every two weeks, and will later be available on major podcast platforms including Spotify, Audible, and Apple Podcasts.
Watch the first two episodes of the podcast below and head on over to Hear Art on YouTube to subscribe for upcoming episodes.
Claude, a potential tool for increased accessibility, was used as a research and writing aid for this blog post. Do you think this is an appropriate use of chatGPT? Why or why not? Let me know!
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