Talented artists and performers are breaking through in the areas of dance, theatre, music, drama and visual arts – but some still demean their work as ‘therapy’ if they have learning disabilities. Gus Garside reports on the successes and reflects on the barriers that remain
A visual artist and a film maker, both of whom had learning disabilities, were attending a conference back in 2012. Art by people with learning disabilities was under discussion and a delegate said: “The arts are such good therapy for them.”
The artist and film maker were understandably put out by the comment, feeling that it illustrated a lack of regard for their work and the work of other artists and performers with learning disabilities.
They said: “We have all experienced having people patronise our work,” and noted it was all too often put under education, outreach or community work programmes rather than seen as professional arts.
So a project called Creative Minds began. Members of Carousel, Action Space, Rocket Artists, Corali Dance Company and Face Front Theatre Company came together to organise a conference at the Brighton Dome in 2014. They invited artists with learning disabilities and representatives from the wider arts world to join a discussion.
Since then, Creative Minds has developed into a national project. It held conferences in Bristol at We the Curious, (formerly the Science Museum) in 2014, in Ipswich at Dance East in 2015 and, last year, at Home in Manchester and Mac Birmingham. Each conference was planned and hosted by a regional team of artists with learning disabilities. Each one has been different. It has been a truly creative journey.
The year 2012 also saw the birth of Unlimited, a commissioning programme established as part of the Cultural Olympiad linked to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, to support “ambitious, creative projects
by outstanding disabled artists and companies”.
In the first round, singer-songwriter Jez Colborne of Bradford’s Mind the Gap Theatre Company received one of the commissions to create Irresistible. Two years later, he was commissioned by the New Music Biennial to create Gift. Set in a shipping container, this musical installation was presented at the South Bank Centre and in Glasgow as part of the Commonwealth Games Cultural programme.
Two years later, dancer and choreographer Chris Pavia of Stopgap Dance Company created The Awakening – the first professional work made for national touring by a choreographer with Down’s syndrome.
In 2016, Action Space artist Thompson Hall was commissioned by HOUSE and Outside In to take part in HOUSE Festival 2016 alongside Turner prize-winning Gillian Wearing.
Singer-songwriter Daniel Wakeford, who is based with Carousel, embarked on his first UK tour, which ran during 2016 and 2017. He now has over 52,000 fans on Facebook, where his videos have been viewed more than 100,000 times.
This tiny selection of random highlights from recent years illustrates how the involvement of people with learning disabilities in the arts is starting to go mainstream, albeit slowly and sporadically.
Why create art?
So why is it important? Let’s hear first from some of the delegates to Creative Minds conferences about why they create art for public consumption:
“To say something or change something about the world.”
“I’ve got something I want to tell you.”
“This is my career.”
By sharing their art through exhibitions or performances, they enrich us all by adding new voices and perceptions and often new ways of doing things.
However, for most, art is not created to be seen by others. It is simply an integral part of the human experience. The process of creating art is potent and personal:
“My art tells me who I am – it shows you who I am.”
Barriers
Research we have carried out with a number of venues has highlighted four significant barriers to the work of learning disabled artists being given a higher profile in the wider arts world:
- They say they don’t know what work by learning disabled artists and performers is out there that is appropriate for a wider public
- They remain concerned about issues of quality
- They are concerned about whether there is a big enough audience for it
- They need help in terms of marketing the work.
Of course, the more work that is seen, the easier it is to address all this. More work will be known to be available, quality will be demonstrated and audience development can be addressed.
Being critical, not simple
There’s a question about how or indeed whether the work is talked about. Learning disabled artists have said they feel journalists often “sit on the fence”, possibly because they don’t know how to talk about the work.
“‘Fear is a barrier to do with ignorance,” is how one Creative Minds delegate put it. Another said: “We are portrayed as stupid and simple. People, not wanting to hurt our feelings, say our work is good while actually thinking ‘that was rubbish’ – we can take it!”
Or, as well-known dancer DJ of the Corali Dance Company has said: “not all learning disability work is great and it doesn’t help if people say it is. We need to be more self-critical, but this is tied in with self-confidence. A balance is needed.”
Critiquing is essential to development. However, one performer said: “I believe in my own quality as an artist. How ‘good’ the art is up to the person watching.”
Role models
Another reason why it is important socially to see learning disabled artists out there lies in the value of positive role models. Artists, musicians and sports people can provide these roles; TV portrayal can be very effective.
The visibility of great disabled role models on CBBC is something that the BBC is rightly proud of. It can inspire young disabled people and sow the seeds of acceptance in all young people.
However, actor Sarah Gordy (who has appeared in productions including Upstairs Downstairs and Call the Midwife), speaking at the Creative Minds north conference, said: “TV is inclined to only have stories about the problems disability brings.
“I had a young learning disabled employee in a supermarket come up to me. He said: ‘Sarah you were brilliant yesterday, but you are not doing us any favours. Your characters are always helpless and sad. Please play a character with a job, a life and giggles.’ What could I say? I don’t rule the world. That is the challenge ahead.”
In the subsidised arts sector, exciting times are ahead. Many more disability arts organisations are due to receive regular funding from Arts Council England from this April. In addition, all larger organisations will, for the first time, have to demonstrate how they address Arts Council England’s “creative case for diversity” in terms of their programming, artists, the staff they contract and audiences.
An example of a larger organisation already embarking on this is Birmingham Royal Ballet, which has for some years given space and opportunities to the unique, hugely entertaining Freefall dance company. Freefall has now moved into the ballet company’s main artistic programme from its education programme. This is likely to bring it more into the sphere of mainstream, public dance.
All in all, it feels that the creative sector is growing in confidence and is beginning to raise its profile –and this can only be good news for the learning disabled community and, indeed, for everyone.
www.creativemindsproject.org.uk/
Gus Garside is national coordinator of Creative Minds
