Making art inclusive

People with learning disabilities and their non-disabled collaborators working together on creative arts projects is the subject of a new book by two University of Brighton academics.

‘Inclusive Arts Practice and Research’, by Dr Alice Fox, Associate Head, School of Art, Design and Media and Course Leader for the MA Inclusive Arts Practice, and Dr Hannah Macpherson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Environment and Technology, was launched at London’s Tate Modern last night (1 June).

The book examines what is billed as “an exciting and newly emergent field”, in performance and visual arts.

The University of Brighton has pioneered different ways of working with marginalised and under-represented communities in new ways and its work has been seen by people in 40 countries.

In their book, the authors interview artists, curators and key practitioners in the UK and US, and they examine the new practice in relation to similar approaches. They candidly describe the tensions and difficulties involved too, and explore how the work sits within contemporary art and critical theory.

The book also includes essays and illustrated statements, and has over 250 full-colour images. Inclusive Arts Practice, the publishers say, represents a landmark publication in an emerging field of creative practice across all the arts: “It presents a radical call for collaboration on equal terms and will be an invaluable resource for anyone studying, researching or already working within this dynamic new territory.”

Professor Sarah Whatley, Professor of Dance and Director: Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE)

Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry University, said: “This is an illuminating and humane book, grounded in rigorous research and providing a significant contribution to the discourses of inclusive arts practice.

“Carefully structured and highly accessible in its design and textual presentation, it presents a series of chapters that engage seriously and intelligently with themes that run through the complex field of Inclusive Arts. Chapters cover issues of terminology, audience encounters, guiding examples of ‘how to practice’, and deal with the thorny questions of ‘quality’ and ‘labels’ in relation to Inclusive Arts.

“A major strength is the way the authors weave together a rich collection of vivid illustrations and imagery, with conversations with learning-disabled artists, artistic directors and curators, sensitively presented to underpin the core argument that the work of learning-disabled artists should be taken seriously.”