Artistry, Advocacy, & Hope: Disrupting Death with April Hubbard

Disrupting Death

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“ It's brought some hope that maybe it'll be different for the generation, the young disabled girl who's just getting the diagnosis today will be able to see a few examples anyway out there of somebody who had a life and who got to live and thrive.”

Dear listeners, this month Kathy and Keri-Lyn are privileged to share a conversation with April Hubbard, a performer, arts administrator, accessibility consultant, and a Mad, Disabled, Queer, White & Mi'kmaw woman based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

April spent 25 years struggling to create space for those with unseen bodies and unheard voices. She is the former Chair of the Halifax Fringe Festival, the co-founder of disabilityX Halifax, the author of the Eastern Front Theatre Accessibility Project Report, and recipient of the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Volunteerism at the 2025 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. She was a frequent contributor and host on AMI-tv, and a collaborator with the JRG Society for the Arts. She is most proud of her performance career as a circus artist, collaborating alongside her creative soulmate, Vanessa Furlong, and of her blend of drag with activism, using her alter ego, Crip Tease.

April spent her life encouraging others to be leaders in designing the society in which they wish to live by challenging assumptions and normalizing the presence of Disabled people in our everyday world.
In 2023, April shared publicly her choice to apply for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) to combat the loneliness and isolation she faced as an atypical dying person. She hopes that talking about her experience will encourage others to bring their death journey into the light and take away some of the fear and shame around preparing to die in a way that throws out the rules and expectations.

Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com.

This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

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