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RACE

Trigger warning: this blog post contains topics of racism, white supremacy and white fragility

It is important to contextualise this blog post through my own positionality. I am a white person who has been brought up middle class (though my grandparents and parents were not) and I have inherited many privileges through the establishment of white culture as the powerful norm in this westernised society in which I live and operate. I am on an ongoing, life-long journey, I face my own white fragility, fear, pride, and shame towards my own ignorance about how much racism continues to dominate our society. I constantly have to check my own bias/ assumptions, and my privilege and experience will at points be a limiting factor in comprehending this. However, it is through this uneasy journey I begin to grasp my complicity, listening to marginalised voices, find ways to be accountable, become an ally, and realise that small accessible changes can contribute to big changes. I am continually exposing and interrogating more aspects of my privilege as I de-center ‘white culture’ and educate myself further, creating a deeper understanding through study of the oppressive structures within society and education and pedagogies of social justice.

‘Any classroom that employs a holistic model of learning will also be a place where teachers grow, and are empowered by the process. That empowerment cannot happen if we refuse to be vulnerable while encouraging students to take risks.’ (Hooks, 1994, p21)

Shades of Noir Resources

The shades resources have been invaluable in evolving my understanding of racism within myself/society/education, intersectionality, social justice pedagogy, my own positionality and where it sits within this. I will continue to use these rich resources, refer to them within my own practice and direct students to them. The creative database has also been of huge help to spotlight artists of colour and act as an additional catalyst for creating more diverse references for myself and students.

My continual engagement with these resources will help to keep my knowledge current, will continually build my confidence, and give me more language to articulate myself and facilitate others to have difficult and complex conversations with both staff and students. It is refreshing to see such stimulating student and graduate work that within the Shades publications and sites, and is a great point of reference. All too often as a technician I see the journey of making the artwork but not the joy of the finished article, so this is a great resource for looking at examples of alumni and artists work.

Through the crative database I found the artist Rayvenn. Their practice explores the digital hybridity of sculpture following the affirmation of media, exploring the nuances of identity that pivot between hyper-visibility and invisibility, offering (re-)imagined collective perspective. (SoN, Creative Database, Rayvenn Shaleigha D’clark) This conceptual work paired with the technical making side of the work, which is directly relevant to our processes used on the course, is a great reference point for me to direct students to and discuss with them.

I also looked at a review of the workshop given by Dr. Gurnham Singh, CBE on How to facilitate open discussions about racism, implicit bias and stereotypes in the workshop setting by Rayvenn Shaleigha D’Clark. They say:

‘In my opinion, it boils down to an issue of acceptance, as workshops such as this shows that there is learning to be done on all sides as there remains an important (cultural) exchange that needs to happen; where we all learn from one another – and together – about the myriad of ways we can help to tackle racism, implicit bias stereotypes and much more within the institution.

We all must accept that we have a role to play, and that there is a lot of learning to be fostered on both sides.’

I really identify with these words, especially acceptance, and also respect. Cultural exchange enriches everyone’s lives and world views. I totally agree that everyone needs to be accountable to contribute to this work within their own levels of influence and realise the level of critical questioning needed to move forward. I think it is the collaborative nature of teaching and both learning from and with staff and students that will be the success of dismantling the oppressive structures within the institution. Having said that this does not negate the institutions responsibility to do more- why do we all not receive Dr. Gurnham Singhs workshop?

A Pedagogy of Social Justice Education: Social Identity Theory, Intersectionality and Empowerment, Aaron J Hahn Tapper

This journal examines the considerations of social justice education alongside the observation of power dynamics in social groups within classrooms.

Social Justice Education is hard to define as it has no single meaning or use, however the journal suggests one understanding is that it ‘explicitly recognizes the disparities in social opportunities, resources and long-term outcomes among marginalized groups’ (p. 412) The article goes on to examine the way it manifests itself through ideology and application.

Social Identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s). Tajfel (1979) proposed that the groups (e.g. social class, family etc.) which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world. Tajfel and Turner (1979) suggested that there are three cognitive processes involved in evaluating others as “us” or “them”. These are: social categorisation>social identification>social comparison. It helps me to understand this in terms of forming group dynamics, but it is also important to consider peoples assumptions when they attempt to categorise traits in order to group themselves and others.

Social Identity Theory (SIT) suggests that, ‘intergroup encounters’ within education must be approached in and around students’ ‘larger social identities.’ This is significant due to the objectives and practice of an inclusive pedagogy inspired by Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2006). Freire explains the importance of thinking critically and “the role that identity plays in the shaping and implementation of education. One of his most important arguments is that students’ identities need to be taken into account in all educational settings.”(p.414)

SIT presents a significant problem with groups preferring ‘their own’ at the expense of ‘the Other’: “social identities are one of the primary criteria through which power is enacted” (p. 418)

It reminded me of this quote:

‘Dominator culture has tried to keep us all afraid, to make us choose safety instead of risk, sameness instead of diversity. Moving through that fear, finding out what connects us, revelling in our differences; this is the process that brings us closer, that gives us a world of shared values, of meaningful community.’ (Hooks, 2003, p197)

In the classroom, ways to push through ‘Dominator culture’ could take the form of:

Considering group dynamics when forming groups in classrooms

Acknowledging that systems of oppression will appear inside the classroom as well as outside when facilitating group activities, and in my interactions with students

Embedding resources that discuss identity and social justice

Critically evaluate resources and make sure they are diverse, featuring artists from a variety of positionalities

Embodying compassionate pedagogy by modelling empathy, acceptance, love and respect in the classroom

Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design, Finnigan and Richards

This paper was an extremely informative read and highlighted many important explanations for a 33% attainment upper degree awarding gap between white students and Black British Caribbean and Black British African students. It also highlighted the need for more nuanced raw data for the full range of achievement levels to further understand retention and attainment.

Obstacles to achievement were identified as:

A lack of cultural capital within institutions- arts education being both ‘conservative, repetitive and exclusive and ‘Euro-centric, racist and imperialist’

Relationships with course tutors and the (e)quality of feedback coupled with a misalignment of students’ expectations transitioning from a school setting to a university setting

The perception that tutors preferences directly affect grades, a lack of encouragement to explore personal identity and the departure of original ideas to conform to that of the tutors forming a dis-association with their practice

A lack of diversity within teaching staff leading to a lack of diverse perspectives and role models

While I cannot address all these obstacles in my teaching role, I can:

‘take a more inclusive approach to the curriculum by identifying more diverse reading lists and key visual references and more inclusive pedagogies, review and/or audit the inclusion of embedded diversity and student-centred learning in the curriculum and create greater opportunities for students to have a sense of ownership over their environment’ (Finnigan and Richards, 2015, p. 19)

Examples of this within my lessons are widening the scope of the references I refer to in my workshops and 1 to 1s with students. Instead of giving students objects to work on within the workshops I deliver, I invite students to bring in things that interest them (if they want to) to open discussion and learn more about students’ backgrounds and interests and create a more collaborative working space. Within my painting class I cover a spectrum of skin tones (before I took over the class only lighter skin tones were demonstrated by the teacher) and I started to create a diverse image bank for references. I continue to seek opportunities to give students grater agency within the workshops we do together and invite their valuable feedback as to how we can do better. During my conversations with students to try and eliminate inequality within formative feedback, I analyse and evaluate from a technical point of view what they have done or what they want to do, I try and be very specific and pinpoint processes with my observations. I question the students whether I have interpreted this correctly and ask them to explain their/the process back to me and if this was their intention, to check we are both on the same page. If it is something they wish to make in the future, we discuss different methodologies and construct a plan of action/timeline together in a collaborative manner. If it is something they have already made, we discuss the success of the process, I ask the students to reflect on what they did and what might improve their work going forward? What worked well, what did not and what the reason for that might be? I suggest possible routes of enquiry, try to include a range of references/resources, and processes to move the work forward to the next stage. I try to be aware of creating a delicate balance of providing enough information to keep students engaged to stimulate discussion and self-reflection, whilst leaving room for autonomy. If a student presents me with a topic I am unfamiliar with I take time to research it in order to have richer discussions in the future.

Room of Silence

What stands out to me is the importance of classrooms being safe spaces, and a need for compassionate pedagogy. What these students have experienced is horrible and can have such a detrimental effect on their work, grades and their education as a whole. I remember when I was at art school the academic tutors held so much power, and because art is such a subjective subject, if they did not like/get your work they were totally discouraging and that was 16 years ago without discussing any issues dealing with social justice or race. I also remember crits being difficult spaces to really be open and the fear of saying something that someone may not like or not even feeling like I had the vocabulary to discuss my own work, never mind anyone else’s. We received absolutely no coaching on the ‘crit-space’. Given that this still is a widespread issue across UAL (as evidenced in the many case studies on SoN) this is something that is still missing within arts education, especially with regards to race, identity, understanding privilege and power.

It reflects Finnigan and Richards findings on attainment, where ‘If there were no real spaces to explore identity within their work, this could cause confusion and separation from the work’ and ‘Art and Design educators need to be aware of the power they have in encouraging or discouraging their students to develop their own practice’(Finnigan and Richards, 2015, p8)

I believe this is something that should be developed and delivered via training for all staff and students. For students this could take the shape of both staff and students co-creating rules for safe crit spaces at the beginning of each year, with the understanding that any staff present were there to facilitate and not make negative judgment about work. Social justice education embedded within the curriculum would also help facilitate student and staff confidence to have this discourse. For staff it could be made mandatory that everyone must complete the inclusive teaching and learning course (or a form of it), the engagement with Shades resources around their material on creating safe spaces and training on how to facilitate challenging conversations.

As a member of technical teaching staff I am acutely aware of the internal hierarchy of UAL, we are all often reminded we are not ‘academics’ but ‘support staff’, and as such do not make many important decisions that can create big changes- on who is offered a place on to the course, curriculum content, marking etc. and are left out of a lot of important meetings and communications, ‘othered’ from the academic team. Sometimes I feel a bit powerless to make change and feel a bit disconnected to statistics within the institution as they only seem to deal with the ‘academic’ and ‘student’ experience. Having said that I feel very lucky that as technical staff, in my experience, students tend to be very open and happy to discuss their work, aspects of their identity and personal life outside the studios, and this increases with amount of time spent with students who come into the studios each year. Perhaps this is because as we do not mark their work, we are seen to hold less power and are therefore more approachable/relatable as there is less fear of judgment. However, the key to students engaging with the course and attending the studios in the first place is establishing that trust from the beginning. Within my own work I can practice compassionate pedagogy by:

staying present and being authentic

listening with curiosity and an openness to learning with and from students

communicating back to students to check my understanding of what they are communicating to me

creating/seeking connections and validating others experiences by recognising my own privileges and power

fostering all students sense of belonging throughout their university experience

challenging persistent binaries within education/social structures and silence/a lack of contribution towards this/the risks of inaction

Whiteness and un-conscious bias

Josephine Kwhali clearly points out that institutions have made ‘conscious’ efforts to make steps towards equality for women in the workplace (however only to benefit white middle-class women), even if the gender bias was ‘un-conscious’. She leaves us questioning, is it possible to be ‘un-conscious’ but ‘consciously’ take actions? Therefore why are we still where we are in society?

I found myself reflecting on our seminar and listening to Shirley Anne Tate speak about un-conscious bias and who benefits from being un-conscious. How un-conscious bias is a palatable word for racism, with a no-blame message.

I remember doing the ‘Breaking Bias’ training when I started at UAL, and that it was a new addition to staff training. I remember doing it alongside fire safety training and it very much felt like a box ticking assignment for your PRA. I remember feeling confused and wondering how on earth this was supposed to combat bias or assumptions from a very diluted, short-lived task. I feel ashamed that my thoughts never ventured further, I did not sit with, speak about or question my discomfort. Perhaps it was because I was a new member of staff and didn’t feel comfortable challenging the institution, perhaps I didn’t feel qualified, perhaps because it was easier to say nothing. I appreciate now that my silence is complicity within a racist society/institution.

I failed to examine the language and unpack its problematic nature. Listening to Professor Tait and Josephine Kwhali has made me realise that I need to be so much more critical with the status-quo and interrogate, and not just accept, without question, and be more present about the structures and policies within the institution, as well as daily life too.

I realise how the term ‘un-conscious bias’ forgets institutional racism, as well as white supremacy and actually prevents anti-racist work being done because it promotes an active un-knowing and perpetuates white fragility within our institution. It keeps the structures of oppression firmly in place, benefiting those who fit into that system, under the guise of appearing to do something about it.

Both women highlight the need for normative white/eurocentric disruption. How can we teach students to be critical thinkers when the institution is not?

Throughout this course I have realised that small actions can make all the difference, and that through critical reflection on what we teach, why we teach it, what voices are heard, and what voices are missing are small changes for me to make that can have a big impact on the students I work with.

Kwhali’s words really stuck with me:

‘What else do we have to do, say, write about, talk about, present on in order for supposedly intelligent people who are educating the next generation (…) to get any degree of consciousness’

Progress is painfully slow, and while we wait for the institution to become conscious, both academic and technical staff must work together to take collective agency in our teaching work to overcome barriers.

I found this talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about the danger of a single story, very thought provoking. She takes us through a journey of her education and how her life experiences shaped her views and how her own assumptions and the assumptions of others affected her. It is a stark reminder of the importance of thinking against the grain, de-colonising thinking, and how assumptions and positionality affect our views.

I have also enjoyed UAL blog on de-colonising the curriculum, and have recently joined the Technical Decolonisation Network within LCF where we meet every other week to discuss topics around de-colonising the curriculum, chat and connect over this and think about how to feed this into our practice. It is really inspiring to hear from a whole body of technical staff over all of LCF and hearing the group’s thoughts and concrete examples of practice. It also helps keep us accountable and keeps the conversations going.

This unit has given me the knowledge, language and confidence to contribute to these meaningful discussions and carry them on into the classroom. I am incredibly grateful to have been able to participate and experience this course. I am incredibly grateful for the emotional labour undertaken by staff to create/run this course and all of the SoN resources. The shift in my thinking has been transformational, the tools I have gained have been invaluable for carrying on this important work.

Bibliography

Hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope, Routledge, 2003

Rayvenn Shaleigha – Creatives Database (shadesofnoir.org.uk)

New Page — RAYVENN SHALEIGHA D’CLARK (rayvenn-dclark.com)

http://shadesofnoir.org.uk/how-to-facilitate-open-discussions-about-racism-implicit-bias-and-stereotypes-in-the-workshop-setting-by-dr-gurnam-singh-cbe/

https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html

Hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, Routledge, 1994

https://moodle.arts.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1101489/mod_folder/content/0/ug_retention_and_attainment_in_art_and_design2_1568037344%20%281%29.pdf?forcedownload=1

https://moodle.arts.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1101489/mod_folder/content/0/A%20Pedagogy%20of%20Social%20Justice%20Education%20Social%20Identity%20Theory%2C%20Intersectionality%2C%20and%20Empowerment.pdf?forcedownload=1

Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Penguin Classics, 2017.

Sabri, D. Eliminating Inequality in Formative Assessment, Academic Enhancement Model Team, UAL Resource, accessed here: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/190153/AEM-Eliminating-Inequality-Formative-Assessment-PDF-288KB.pdf

London College of Fashion | Decolonising the Arts Curriculum: Perspectives on Higher Education

Saad, Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World, Quercus, 2020.

https://janeelliott.com/learning-materials-1

ARTEFACT IDEA

FAITH

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It was great to be directed to the Religion, belief and faith identities in learning and teaching UAL site. I have never come across it before, and it is a great collection or resources which I will keep referring back to. There is so much I want to read!

The two articles around depictions of religion in art captured my attention. As a young child I spent many an hour staring at religious effigies and wondering. I was also drawn to these because this is a topic that is sometimes taken on by our performance students, particularly the Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics students. Both articles ‘The Ground Breaking Artists Challenging Religion Through Art’ and ‘Does Modern Art Hate Religion?’ discuss they ways in which religion has been perceived and handled by modern artists. They explain there has been a tendency from artists to lean away from embracing the church and work that depicts a favourable view of religious imagery. Instead there has been a trend of making critical work around religion in a sometimes “disrespectful and subversive fashion” (Sooke, 2014). It made me reflect on some of the student’s work I have seen in the making (as technicians we do not have input into design from a conceptual manner, we facilitate the making side once this has been agreed with by a tutor) and their feelings of a need to be provocative, controversial, challenging or critical with regards to many subjects, religion being one of them- which is also often the case in the art world out with the university too. There is a friction in this kind of exploration, and a definite challenge in HE, freedom of speech/censorship against the rights of those to whom offence may be caused because of their belief systems. To me it highlights a need for awareness of other perspectives in both staff and students, which can be easily missed in a so called ‘liberal arts’ setting where everyone does not share the same views. It also highlights a need for the creation and instigation of safe spaces that promote respectful conversations around religion. I believe there needs to be more of an onus put on the makers of the work to think about the wider context of the work and its place in the world. This would also include the encouragement of the use of trigger warnings embedded in University Practice, something I have yet to see out with the IT&L Unit.

*Images displayed in main thoroughfare in D- Block Corridors without trigger warning*

In both articles it was satisfying to see the other side of religion and the art world being represented- “less critical art” (Sooke, 2014) which challenges not their own views, but other assumptions of their faith they have encountered. For example Soorya Grahams ‘Bra’ or Giulia Marchis ‘Call her Fatima’.

I was thinking of how I could facilitate the student voice more and consider resources with regards to faith. I sometimes find this challenging, as technicians we do not have much input on the critical thinking conceptual side of the course. However, I found the Pen Portraits case study a useful idea to think about. As teaching staff we need to find ways to make students comfortable to explore all intersectional areas of their being, including discussion on their backgrounds and belief systems (if they want to), and when they do they will be met with support and encouragement. I liked the idea of the drawing ice breaker and suggested questions, which could be used at various points throughout the year. It is good to be mindful of the types of questions posed around this, and the need to respect protected characteristics. It also highlights the intersectionality of faith and how a binary approach cannot be taken to it. We will deal with faith and other aspects of identity in a more progressive way and treat it as something that belongs in education, as opposed to something that is independent of education.

The case study series on Faith from SoN again re-enforced the importance of creating and facilitating safe learning spaces. I must be mindful that when discussions around faith do occur they are happening respectfully and any discriminatory behaviour is confronted and dealt with appropriately. I found the ‘Options’ in the case study book particularly useful. I think that the ‘Set Rules at Induction’ should be something that the whole performance department adheres to and I am not sure that it is currently embedded? It has made me re-think the technical inductions that we do for Yr1 students, and how and where we could fit this in. What students’ display of their work and how they display it in the studios for example could also be addressed.

In Religion in Britian, Religion as a Public Good Calhoun discusses, as Modood expresses, that religion is not only a private matter but a public one too. They believe supressing religion to a private matter is fundamentally restrictive. With the growing popularity of ‘secularism’ many persist in thinking that religion should be a separate, private matter. But Calhoun argues that remnants of Christian public symbolism are everywhere, and that Britain allows more space for some religions over others, and separation of state and church is selectively applied.

“In a pluralist society, public religious engagement could support the exploration of major issues, as indeed it does to some extent in the UK with regard to the nature of contemporary capitalism and the legitimacy of extreme inequality” (Calhoun, 2015)

I can see now how the intersection of religion is not simply a private matter, it completely permeates society, and a secular state, or university, does not exist and cannot exist. Even within ‘secularism’ there is not an agreed form of ‘secularism’ that fits all.

This followed nicely onto Religion and Knowledge of Religion in the UK where Calhoun talks about universities needing ‘religious literacy’ meaning that staff and students should have a better understanding of the way religion has figured in the history of Britain (and the world) and how it relates to the current social climate and policies, and knowledge of different religions. I wondered what the university is doing about this? I realise the resources that we have been pointed to on this course goes some way towards this but not everyone in the university is engaging with this. How can the University do more? There are also the University Chaplains, but it made me wonder are the diverse religious voices represented in other ways, and do the students find the support and connection they need?

“Even when delivered in entirely secular ways, this (engagement in student’s extracurricular lives) is still often termed ‘pastoral care’ in UK universities, chaplains are important to it, and academics offer less than they once did.”

I agree and disagree with this. While there is more pressure on everyone due to increasing numbers, technical staff seem to always be missed out of facts and figures or not considered at all, only ‘academic’ staff. Although we do not officially provide pastoral care, but because we do spend so much time with students and get to know them well, they do confide in us and we are constantly unofficially giving pastoral care, it takes over a large part of our work, and this is never taken into consideration. We are advised to pass students onto course leaders, but it does not always feel comfortable doing this as I am not always satisfied the situation will be resolved in doing so. How can the university do more?

Kwame Anthony Appiah’s lecture on Creed was an interesting listen. He puts forward the case that religious identity, has relatively little to do with creed, and hence scripture, for people who belong to a faith, real substance comes from the art of practicing that belief- how they enact those beliefs and who they do it with. He suggests that the interpretation is important, and religion is transformed through history, it is how it survives- it becomes re-interpreted in re-understood for what is relevant to present day. He gives the example of the contested place of women in Islam, and how sometimes the interpretation of this faith does restrict women’s freedom and power but other interpretations do not- Bangladesh and Pakistan have had more female prime ministers, and a larger percentage of women in their legislatures than the US. This really hit home for me the importance of not making any assumptions around religion or faith, even when people identify as ‘secular’ as everything is so open to one’s own interpretation…a little bit like the subjective nature of one’s own art practice.

I would say I do not have an assigned religion (although I was brought up as a catholic), but do practice some of my own spiritual rituals, not necessarily connected to any particular faith. I read an interesting article called ‘Do humans have a religion instinct?’ about how religion/faith emerged from an evolutionary process out of necessity for us to become more social beings, and that many of the rituals associated with religion (song, dance, bending in prayer etc.) are activators of the endorphin system- which I felt reflected nicely what Calhoun was saying about religion for the public good, and how society and it cannot be separated. Appiah’s lecture on Creed got me thinking about the history and future of religion and I will read ‘Tomorrows Gods: What is the Future of Religion?’

Bibliography

https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/28290/1/the-groundbreaking-artists-challenging-religion-through-art

http://www.tariqmodood.com/uploads/1/2/3/9/12392325/6379_lfhe_stimulus_paper_-_modood_calhoun_32pp.pdf

https://www.shadesofnoir.org.uk/education/people-of-colour-copy/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07z43ds

Keep the faith: religion and cohesion in universities

Church, State and Culture: Should Religion Be a Private Matter?

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190801-tomorrows-gods-what-is-the-future-of-religion

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190529-do-humans-have-a-religion-instinct

DISABILITY

2 Replies

The resources for this week’s task were extremely thought provoking. From film to text, lived experiences, to terminology, it took days for me to digest, examine and reflect on everything.

LISTEN

The Film on the artist Christine Sun Kim, was a truly fascinating, and beautiful window into her mind and how she operates within the world. She very powerfully interrogates the ownership of sound and being partially deaf, she ‘reclaims sound as my property’ by creating new narratives for everyday sounds that she does not have access to. She invites us to listen with our eyes not just her ears, as she must. This reclamation was so compelling and innovative. It certainly made me confront the fact that I do not always appreciate/or pay attention to my abilities, I can take for granted many things about my body because the world is built for people like me. More importantly though, through her work it highlighted that in diversity, in uniqueness, there is power- there must be space for different perspectives. As an artist she harnesses her unique perspective on the world, the responsibility of her creative practice, and power to reach a larger audience- amplifying marginalised voices. In her video she uses sign language, and there are also subtitles. As teachers we must also create inclusive content. We must be accommodating, we must adapt to every students’ different needs individually and anticipate requirements, and we must amplify all students’ voices. We have the responsibility in our roles to create a fluid, student-centered space, where we listen.

image from Christine Sun Kims video — A still from the film about Christine Sun Kim

PAY MORE ATTENTION

I then went onto read ‘Confronting the Whitewashing Of Disability: Interview with #DisabilityTooWhite Creator Vilissa Thompson’ where she addresses the lack of representation and narrative of disabled people in popular culture, let alone people of colour living with disabilities. She highlights that even when efforts are made for representation, they are still from a normative gaze. Her words re-enforced that all oppression is interconnected (intersectionality), and the immediate need for diversification in disability. This confronted my need to pay more attention, I was initially shocked to learn that non-disabled people play these few and far between roles afforded to them- but then why am I really shocked with the state of the world being as it is?

‘So I think that when it comes to the media, the media has to do a better job at highlighting better portrayals of disabled actors and actresses to really be visible and have those roles; to be creative enough to write shows, screenplays, and movies; and to give them the space, financial support, and backing to tell our stories our way. There’s a lot of room there for representation of disabled people of color in the media to be more present, to demystify what it means to be of color and disabled.’

This lead to me to thinking about disability in the performance sector (as I teach as a technician on the Performance for fashion course) and my need to familiarise myself with, and pay more attention to amplifying all voices. From my experience this subject not readily explored by students, and I am unsure if this is even a topic that is given consideration in the performance curriculum. I intend to find out more about this. I came across some interesting resources that champion disability within the arts and performance sector:

Shape Arts https://www.shapearts.org.uk/

Carosel https://carousel.org.uk/

Access all areas http://www.accessallareastheatre.org/aaaproductions

Birds of paradise https://www.boptheatre.co.uk/our-productions/

I’m really looking forward to attending a production as soon as they re-open.

Paper Sculpture by Chelle Destefano, Shades of Noir, Disabled People: The Voice of Many, 2020, p242

THE INVISIBLE/NON APPARENT

Reading ‘Deaf Accessibility for Spoonies: Lessons from Touring Eve and Mary are Having Coffee while chronically ill’ by Khairani Barokka was harrowing. Khairani lives in pain, but is failed by a society that does not believe her because her chronic pain is not visible. She also shines a light on the pressures that people put themselves under as an under-represented minority. You never really know what anyone is dealing with invisibly, so its our job as teachers to model empathy and respect for everyone, and by doing so we create a more supportive environment.

I also read the article on SoN about invisible disabilities. I was shocked to read the case study of a member of staff who was also a student struggle with Visual Stress, have it identified by the University, but because it did not fall into a particular category or tick the right box, no further help could be given. As a technician I regularly check in with students and signpost them to the help the university can offer. This made me wonder, how many other students have had this happen to them? It is not helpful or inclusive if you don’t fit in the right box, not everyone fits in pre-prescribed boxes. As technicians we also often get missed out in the communication loop for adjustments to learning and therefore are not always privy to helpful information which could help identify any barriers to learning or explain behaviours in class. At the start of each year I am going to take ownership for asking for this information.

Also, I genuinely did not realise that living with a chronic condition like IBS came under an invisible disability. I have been living with it all my life.

RADICAL MODEL

I really enjoyed actually having time to read some of the SoN publication, I have wanted to engage with these resources for so long but I find it really hard to find the time, peace and quiet to read (I also find it difficult to read on a screen).

I was familiar with the ‘Social Model of Disability’ but had not yet encountered the ‘Radical Model’ which does not distinguish between impairment and disability and moves away from ideas of normative bodies and minds. This model shifts its attention from Disability Rights to Disability Justice, highlighting that difference is a natural and necessary part of human diversity. This model also clarifies that disability is not only a social construction, but a political one.

This got me thinking about language and stereotypes. To disable is to prevent/discourage/put out of action. And with society’s normative gaze it is exactly what it does to anyone who does not fit this gaze. As a society we need to shift away from this damaging existence for people. Laree Carnes coined the phrase ‘Creatively-able’ in 2004 after becoming disabled after an illness. Khairani Baroka forms disability (disabled) as the opposite to enabled, as opposed to unable. Language needs to change and be understood, stereotypes re-claimed or dissolved. SoNs publication of key terms helps with this need. There are so many great resources the university has to offer, and often as staff, we do not get the time to sit down and read these important pieces of work. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to have dedicated space and time out for this work.