Who’s here and who’s not: Inclusion, exclusion, diversity and excellence of socially-engaged artistic practice.
Wednesday 26th January 2022, 1:15pm - 2:45pm
The events of 2020 brought equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) into sharp focus for us all and it is fair to say that, in the UK, the Arts has some EDI challenges to face. These issues have been of increasing importance for the sector since Arts Council England (ACE) began the Creative Case for Diversity initiative in 2014. With the recent launch of the latest ACE ten-year strategy Let’s Create artists, creative practitioners and organisations have been charged with developing greater inclusivity, co-creative and collaborative relationships with members of the communities they serve, especially those currently under-represented. To date, much artist training in Higher Education has been based in a Western classical tradition. How do we begin the process of decolonisation of curricular, what is considered ‘excellence,’ who is and is not involved in the process of creating and making new art and why? Our speakers explore these issues with perspectives from Canada and the UK chaired by Debra King, CEO of Brighter Sound, an organisation at the forefront of inclusive practice and artist development.
This webinar will be chaired by Debra King, Brighter Sounds.
Speakers
Victoria Stasiuk
Victoria Stasiuk, Founder and President of Victoria Stasiuk and Associates sees the importance of building resilience in the cultural sector through digital strategies and online experiences. In our current times, it is crucial to maintain access and equity to culture as an essential food for the heart, soul, and mind. Consulting projects and employment in the last twenty years have focused on maximizing existing cultural assets of communities to increase community engagement, tourism, and economic development revitalization. Recent projects and clients have included an artist-run gallery, arts councils, as well as Canadian museums and archives.
Chiying Lam
Chiying Lam is an active community music practitioner whose professional portfolio includes performance, teaching, event management and research. She is a co-founder of Little Bean Theatre, a Cantonese family interactive theatre company in London. Her current research interest are intergenerational music practice and the transferability of the practice to other professional domains, especially to linguistically and culturally diverse language contexts.
Luci Pina
Luci Pina's work is a visual, research-based exploration of image, type and drawing underpinned by the idea of using arts-based practice as a conduit for learning, on a conceptual and practical level. Driven by a need to engage with and celebrate black culture, her work often taps into the political, and notes surrounding heritage with a responsive, layered and intuitive approach to drawing and media.