BA (Hons) Visual Communications student, Kirsty Ramsay-Hogan, has won a Silver Creative Conscience Award for a film that raises awareness of the needs of D/deaf students.
Kirsty’s humorous and informative take on deafness and D/deaf culture, aimed at lecturers, was created as an alternative to often jaded and medical model deaf awareness videos.
The film, made in response to an approach by Sheffield Hallam University’s Spark! Disabled Network, aims to challenge misconceptions in a clear and engaging way with communication tips and advice on supporting d/Deaf students through Covid-19.
Kirsty, who presents the film, said: “I have been deaf all my life and my whole family are deaf. From a young age I have been aware of the inequality and isolation that results from societal barriers and a lack of deaf awareness.
“While I took a humorous approach in my video, this is a serious subject. I felt that it was important to create this film because there is so little awareness of deafness, or any impairment, in our society. This is unsurprising considering the lack of accurate media representation of D/deaf people or engaging teaching resources available, particularly those created by D/deaf people or people with impairments.
“My own experiences, and those of my family and deaf friends, have led to me becoming active in promoting the social model of disability and the cultural model of deafness. I do not see it as a passion, more of a necessity.
“There is nothing wrong with being D/deaf or disabled, and I hope this video encourages that perspective. I also hope it gives people the opportunity to learn something new, as well as have a laugh.”
The Creative Conscience Awards, established in 2016, recognise socially value projects in advertising, architecture, engineering & interior design, experiential design, fashion & textiles, film & photography, graphics, illustration & animation, product & structural design, service design and technology.
The University’s Visual Communications students have won numerous Creative Conscious Awards since they were established, among them Lucy Everitt and Victoria Nelson, who won gold in 2016.
All images: Stills from Kirsty Ramsay-Hogan's Silver Creative Conscious Award winning D/deaf awareness film, 2020. Courtesy Kirsty Ramsay-Hogan