Championing Inclusion and Anti-Racism in the Arts
We’ve had a busy and meaningful few months here, at DIY Theatre Company.
From thought-provoking training sessions to inspiring feedback from our community, we’re continuing our journey towards inclusivity and justice. Let’s dive into the latest happenings!
Empowering Voices and Embracing Diversity
“In every session we make sure everyone has the chance to make their voices heard.”
“We champion stories that have been ignored.”
These slogans, crafted by our dedicated DIY Board and staff during our most recent Anti-Racism Training Day, embody our commitment to inclusivity and justice.
The Right to Participate
“Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts, to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” – Article 27, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Participation in and enjoyment of culture and the arts are fundamental human rights. Yet, too often, those denied the right to express themselves through art and culture are also excluded from fully participating in community and societal life. The rights expressed in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are crucial in ensuring everyone can engage in cultural life.
At our recent birthday event, Jenny Sealey OBE, our inspiring patron, highlighted the importance of these rights for Disabled people to take centre stage and create their own culture: “We are going to tell a story we’re going to take you on a journey covering a huge emotional landscape. We may not be the people you see every day on the stage but excuse me, this is our stage!”
Building Inclusive Stages
For thirty years, DIY has championed the rights of people with learning disabilities to create and communicate, building platforms for disabled people to express themselves through art and culture. While we strive to be inclusive, we acknowledge there is always room to do more. This year, we initiated two training sessions for our Board and staff to deepen our anti-racist practices.
On Tuesday, May 14th, our Board members and staff attended the second of two Anti-Racism sessions led by Nikki and Aiyisha from Contact Mcr. We watched a film about civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Alabama. We discussed its impact and created images to express our feelings.
Taking Action Against Racism
We explored the concept of anti-racism as not just opposing racism but actively doing something about it. We brainstormed and created posters, depicting what anti-racism looks like and identified steps we can take to be more actively anti-racist. Our Board has now approved a six-month action plan, including:
- Communications: Highlighting our anti-racist stance and training efforts. Sharing statements about our values, and profiling achievements of artists of colour, including those with learning disabilities.
- Black History Month: Extending activities, collaborating with Gamechangers leaders, and running sessions with other groups such as BUDS, Aspire/St Georges, and Chatsworth Futures.
- Partnerships: Building relationships with diverse artists and arts organisations and researching anti-racist practices in other organisations.
Participants shared positive feedback about the session:
“I feel more educated now. Coming to a session and creating something like this is better than on Zoom.”
“I liked how we went in depth because I thought I knew what racism and anti-racism is, but it taught me new ideas.”
“I really enjoyed how deep we went into racism and anti-racism, taking time to understand and answer questions.”
“I thought it was good for us to go over racism and anti-racism and sit longer with that and think about it. We need to sit and get our heads around the ideas. The video was good to access and talk about racism – it was good to have that discussion session much more scaffolded”
Looking Ahead
The challenge now is to implement our ideas. We will review our plan after six months to assess progress and identify areas for improvement. Keeping the rights expressed in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the forefront, we continue to work towards our vision of a world where performers and arts leaders with learning disabilities are valued as part of the rich diversity of our cultural sector and society.
We have been creating accessible and thought-provoking theatre and educational projects since 1994. This year we celebrated 30 years of DIY Theatre Company!
Our vision is for a world where performers and arts leaders with learning disabilities are valued as part of the rich diversity of our cultural sector and our society. Read more about us here
More from DIY
Click here to have a read of our July news item which was dedicated to our 30th birthday events!