Image Description: This is a selfie of a confident, Indo-Caribana Queer woman with dark, curly hair and a warm complexion, taken inside a car. She is wearing a black tank top and has striking red lipstick. She has extensive tattoos covering her arms and a prominent woman's face tattoo on her chest. She is looking directly at the camera with a slight smile.
Gaitrie Persaud-Killings is a Tkaronto-Guyanese-raised Deaf actor, activist and mother of three based in Tkaronto. An ASL coach and ASL music performer, she is also the founder of Phoenix the Fire, a theatre and film community hub for BIPOC Deaf artists, where she is building the support structure she finds lacking in Canada. She splits her time between Tkaranto, Ontario with her family and Atlanta, Georgia where her husband resides.
Gaitrie is currently a news presenter on Sign 1news in Atlanta, Georgia as well as a regular on Nickelodeon Jr. Blues Clues & You and CBC Gem’s Silly Paws, she is also on Squeaky Wheel Canada as Arianna and her documentary film on Breaking Characters on AMI.
**Nothing About Us Without Us: Partnering with Deaf-Led Theatre Companies October 9, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Presenter: Gaitrie Persaud-Killings Location: Studio 2**
This presentation demands true equity in arts and media by urging partnerships with Deaf-led theatre companies and hiring Deaf professionals.
The argument is that Deaf culture is a linguistic and cultural identity, not a disability, and the current system of "accommodation" must shift to genuine "collaboration".
Exclusion from roles like director or producer is a key problem, and the common excuse of "lack of experience" simply masks a failure to hire and provide opportunity.
The core call is simple: "Nothing about us, without us."