Courses
Anita Small, MSc, EdD is a sociolinguist, educator and researcher. A specialist in social dynamics, she connects sdifferent worlds through communication, arts, language, culture and strategic design. Co-Founder and past Co-Director DEAF CULTURE CENTRE, Canada, Dr. Small is Founder/Owner, small LANGUAGE CONNECTIONS, consulting to theatre companies, museums, broadcast companies, non-profit organizations, educational and arts institutions. She engages diverse communities to co-create empowering award-winning organizations, productions, programs and resources – recipient of a United Nations WSIS + 10 Champion, Best of the Best Award/UNESCO (2013) International W3 Award (2012), Best of Canada Design Award (2007), World Summit Award (WSA) (2005) and International NHK Japan Prize (2004) for creativity and inclusive design in educational TV and digital content (eg. Deafplanet, ASL-phabet animated dictionary).
Selected Theatre Credits: Stratford, Soulpepper, Opera Atelier, Theatre Passe Muraille, Cahoots, Canada; Festival Clin d’Oeil, Comedie Theatre, France.
She has obtained over 15 million dollars in cultural program grants, mentors Deaf artists and organizations in grant writing. Dr. Small was grants writer and Director, Cross-Cultural Interaction and Research, The Black Drum, first feature signed musical production (Canada and France, 2019 and Virtual Tour 2021). She was cross-appointed, Hogeschool Utrecht University, Netherlands (5 years) national Deaf performing arts researcher and is program evaluator for Sign Language Institute Canada instructor training and accreditation for theatre interpreters. She is author/content manager, Deaf Artists and Theatres Toolkit (DATT) (Cahoots, 2016) Deaf Arts Handbook Series: Signed Music: Rhythm of the Heart and documentary (2015), Showtime: Deaf Theatre in Canada (2019), The Black Drum Signed Musical: Behind the Scenes Youth Activity Guide (2021), Mentorship for Canadian Deaf Artists: Fostering Deaf Performance Arts Excellence, Research Report (2021) among her numerous publications. Anita has provided cross-cultural interaction training and mediation for Deaf and hearing personnel for 30 years in Canada, the U.S.A., Netherlands, Italy and Japan. She is recipient of the Kathy Dolby Award, singular national award from the Canadian Deaf community (2006) given to a hearing individual.
www.anitasmall.com