Published on: 26th March 2025
Dr Breda Carty, a member of the Deaf History Collections team, shares two powerful experiences that show the deep connection Deaf people have to historical spaces. From visiting Deaf history sites in France to launching the Deaf History Collections website in Sydney’s old Deaf school, these moments reveal how places hold our stories, struggles, and sense of belonging.
As we design modern Deaf spaces, how can we capture that same feeling of homecoming? How do we weave our history into the spaces we create today?
You can learn more about Deaf Connect’s Deaf Space project on our website: https://deafconnect.org.au/deaf-space
Transcript:
Hello, my name is Breda Carty. I worked with the team that built the Deaf History website for Australia, the Deaf History Collections. In talking about Deaf Space today, of course my interest in Deaf Space has been influenced by my work within Deaf History. So, I thought I would share with you two experiences that, for me, capture the importance of Deaf Space.
The first occurred about 20 years ago when I went to France for the Deaf History Conference. There were many people in attendance from all over the world. That conference had a strong focus on showing us Deaf attendees the importance of place. For instance, we were taken on a tour to see the original Deaf school in Paris, to the town where Laurent Clerc grew up. We also visited the gravesites of some important people in Deaf history, along with other significant places. Those places are very important to the French Deaf community, but it was just so interesting to see that all of us Deaf people, from a variety of nations, wanted to experience being in those places, to connect to those places. It filled us with a sense of awe, and we all shared these feelings of homecoming. I do remember that vividly.
The second experience happened more recently here in Australia. Approximately a year ago, we launched the Deaf History website, the Deaf History Collections here in Sydney. We discussed what the perfect venue might be to hold the launch. And finally we were thrilled to secure the old Deaf School building in Sydney. The building still remains, however, for the past 60 years or more, it has been owned by the University of Sydney and is not really publicly accessible. However, they permitted us to hold our launch there, and we were thrilled. We felt like it was the perfect space to launch the Deaf History website and the stories that would come with it. Many people flew in from other states for the launch, and I must say, not just for the launch of the website, but because they wanted to experience being in that building, in that place. It was very clear.
There were some ex students among us, but most of us were not ex students of that school. However, we all still felt so thrilled to be there. To connect to that place, it was magnetic. To be in a place where so much history has occurred. Where so many Deaf people have been, have communicated, had developed and built friendships and connections, perhaps not felt safe at times, and have felt safe at other times in that space. But here we were, in that space. It’s like the building held all those experiences from past generations of Deaf people. It was very special.
So now, in talking about Deaf space in modern Australia, in thinking about what’s important, obviously I think it’s important to consider the practical elements, like good lighting, open plan, good sightlines, sufficient space for ease of communication and signing. To feel safe and accepted by those around us. Of course, those things are very important. But I would love to consider how we could capture that sense of deep connection, of homecoming, of safety, that we have experienced in important historical places. How can we harness that into the modern Deaf space?
One thing that I think could help is bringing in artifacts like pictures, objects, stories, maps that could be displayed. Obviously, we don’t want a modern Deaf space to become like a museum. We do need to think about how we can capture those powerful feelings of belonging and connectedness. How can we make that happen in a modern Deaf space? How can we create that sense of coming home?
Visual description:
The video opens with a still of the subject, Dr Breda Carty, against mint-coloured plain background. In the upper right-hand corner is the Deaf Space logo. A title floats in from the left that reads “Dr Breda Carty : Deaf Historian.”
Dr Breda is featured in the video, sitting in front of a plain black background. She has cropped grey hair and wears glasses. Her top is plain and dark, and she is signing in an informative and open manner towards the camera.
The end slide of the video features the logo in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. A large yellow tile in the center with grey text reads “Your Space. Your Culture. Join the Deaf Space conversation!” Below the tile is a QR code and URL that reads “https://deafconnect.org.au/deaf-space”.
