On 30 May 2024, City Arts hosted a Disability & Arts Summit. It asked “How can the arts support disabled emerging artists?”. Writer Charlotte Lunn has produced a personal account of, and reflection on, the event. Charlotte is a queer, disabled poet and workshop facilitator. Read the article below or listen to it as an mp3.
A Warm Welcome
Disabled artists from different backgrounds and disciplines were invited by City Arts to give a panel discussion on their experiences, the barriers they face and how the arts sector can better support them. This was hosted in the stunning new Nottingham Library, equipped with book nooks, exhibits and a cafe. I was asked to attend the summit and share my reflections.
Navigating weather, technology, when to converse and how not to interrupt, between countries, screens and meeting rooms. The room begins to fill with bodies and gentle chatter. A clanging of spoons in mugs. With a warm welcome from Alma Solarte-Tobón, creative producer at City Arts, we are introduced to the director of the organisation, Suzannah Bedford, who tells us about City Arts’ ethos, to help artists to access art and break down barriers. We are then given a rundown of how this panel came to fruition by City Arts’ creative development manager Alison Denholm, who reveals that conversations with artists and community leaders were conducted through panels as they wanted to hear about people’s lived experience for their approach to be underpinned by this.
Panel Chair Benjamin Wilson sets a precedent for an accessible and inclusive event by offering his pronouns and a visual description of himself, and everyone follows suit. Further to this, a BSL interpreter is present to assist Zoe. I feel accommodations and considerations like this are incredibly important and a strong basis for how arts organisations can begin to champion disabled artists.
Meet the Artists
Ben introduces himself as a blind actor, director and audio description consultant, and a “big white bloke in” his “30’s with balding hair and a big bushy beard.” We are then acquainted with the panelists. Jay Sandhu is a poet, musician and comedian with ADHD and Dyslexia and “an Asian lad with a beard, not much hair… glasses and… a very old Liverpool top on.” Sam Metz is an artist who works with sculpture and installation and has created drawing with stimming centred around neurodivergent advocacy as well as a “white non-binary person with blonde hair, wearing a black t-shirt.” Zoe Milner is a deaf visual artist and political activist with “short hair, blondish,” they’re “quite tall and” have “a green hoodie.” Lamar Francois is a commercial photographer. A skill that’s linked to his disability and Aspergers syndrome. He is “black, wearing a red and green checked shirt and blue jeans.” Nikki Charlesworth is a theatre maker, puppeteer and visual artist who advises on accessible inclusion and also “a white woman with brown curly hair wearing flowery trousers, a green top” and is “a bit wobbly.”
As a poet, I’d had the pleasure of meeting Jay before, from performing in the same circles but there was much I didn’t know about his experience in the art sector. Also, I was unacquainted with the other artists from different disciplines. So, I was looking forward to getting to know more about each of them.
What support exists?
When asked what artist development had helped them, the panelists discuss the importance of paid positions, creative coaching, learning from other disabled artists and support with bid writing. Like Jay, myself and George Parker who run Rebel Riot poetry, had received access funding to get a bid writer to develop our poetry night. As two disabled writers, this assistance was paramount, otherwise we would have struggled to fill out the application due to chronic fatigue, amongst other things. I have seen first-hand that having the right support in place can help disabled creatives to achieve greats things. Sam also shares their thoughts on how being a trustee of board is not a paid position and how they would like to see more opportunities like the critical friend role offered by Primary, where you can advocate for disability, access and inclusion, which is a paid position. Though some artists feel there were many barriers post university due to unreliable freelance work, there is hope that more panels will help disabled creatives and Nikki imparts “If you can’t find work, make your own work.”
Barriers, Budgets and Success
Many of the artists share similar experiences in regards to limited opportunities or opportunities capped by age and that more is needed from the arts sector to help them thrive such as an understanding of access to work, crip time, invisible disabilities and helping artists develop confidence and network. They then explore how they would tackle some barriers if given a budget to help other artists. Jay talks about showing off what we do as disabled artists by “shoving our art in everyones face”, whilst pointing out that “we’ve got extra layers that we can add to almost any project that we’re part of because we don’t think about stuff in the same way as everybody else.” The panelists add to this, some of which includes a space for networking, a studio where Zoe would like to have “long term relationships with that space,” disabled people producing exhibitions, access and food provided to negate extra disability costs, receiving the same recognition as non-disabled people and mentorship. Many of the barriers mentioned were familiar to me and I’ve struggled with attending events due to them running too late, being unable to travel or being too ill to attend, whilst having to fight for event organisers to make accommodations for chronically ill and disabled people during the pandemic, such running hybrid events, or hosting in accessible venues. Sometimes it’s the case of being the change you want to see. This is where Rebel Riot was conceived to create an inclusive and accessible night online for all. Whilst it’s wonderful to see disabled artists uplifting each other, I’d love to see arts organisations removing barriers, creating accommodations and offering more support.
After this, the artists disclose the work they’re most proud of. Zoe mentions how their anger birthed from discrimination for being deaf breeds great art. Sam talks about their work with Sage Stephanou and the collaboration agreement they created, designed for artists to give to organisations to make sure their work is accessible. Lamar discusses his photography with the Princes Trust and Jay his first book of poetry and working with the Nottingham Poetry festival. Nikki tells us how her puppet show helped her refine her practice and Ben shares how he won an award for the Audio Description of Much Ado About Nothing.
Audience Questions
At this point we have a break, re-caffeinate and mingle before being rallied back to our seats for the second half. Ben opens the floor for the arts organisations to ask questions. Donna Briscoe-Greene, CEO at EMCCAN, asks how to tackle imposter syndrome. To which the panelists suggest “Lean into it,” cultivate a “healthy arrogance”, “chip away at it slowly”, “have friends” and know that “no-one knows what they are doing!” When I first decided I wanted to follow a career in poetry, I knew I’d have to start performing my work and I was terrified of public speaking, like with imposter syndrome, I got up on that stage over and over. I felt the fear and did it anyway and ignored that little nagging voice in my head that told me I couldn’t do it. Aoife O’Connor, creative producer at City Arts, then states a lot of us have more than one thing we identify as, before asking how the artists balance and protect their identity. There is a general consensus here on being loud about your identity and the hope that organisations will offer commissions to disabled artists that don’t have to be about their disability. This is followed by Matthew Fowler, company member at Hubbub Theatre Company, wondering whether the artists experience creative blocks and how they manage it from a mental health perspective. The panelists advise having regular breaks, recharging, doing non-creative things and not judging yourself.
Audience Reflections
There is much to be learnt from disabled artists as witnessed from this summit and some audience members felt that they’d like to hear from “more voices” and to include in this “people who are disabled due to severe chronic illness.” It is clear change is required to make the arts sector a more accessible and inclusive space. Some audience members were keen to put Sam and Sage’s collaboration agreement into practice and suggestions were made for a more accessible space for future panels. From other reflections, it appears that this was a great stepping stone to have “more open dialogue to develop more opportunities together.” Many arts organisations concluded that the panel discussion was “thought provoking” and gave them “lots to think about in how to” implement “changes in” their “organisation” as well as how to create a “dedicated space” and facilitate “inclusive networking” for disabled artists. City Arts welcomes the opportunity to continue the conversation.
My Key Takeaways
As disabled artists, we are powerful and resilient but we also deserve the accommodations to create and access the art world because when barriers are lifted we can achieve amazing things. I feel that this summit was a great way to elevate the voices of disabled artists, to encourage discussions around barriers and what support is needed and how art organisations can go away and put what they’ve learnt into practice. I’d like to see more discussions like this, whether that be through formal panels or arts organisations inviting disabled artists for drop ins/events/surveys and my hope is that this initiative will spread further afield.