My Vision

 

Full Accessibility in the Creative Industries.

 

The Creative Industries should be one of the most Accessible sectors for Disabled and other marginalised/minority artists, crew and administrators to work within. While things are starting to get better, slowly, through the hard work of artists, activists, advocates and social change-makers (as well as part of the London 2012 Paralympics Legacy) they’re still nowhere near good enough. In the 21^st Century, gaining Training and Employment in the Creative and Cultural Sector should not be as hard for Disabled and other marginalised people as it is. There should be no barriers or inequalities (ever, full stop) and the Creative Industries should be a thriving and diverse community working together to make the world a better place by telling new and different stories. I want to see the barriers for Disabled and other marginalised groups creating sustainable careers for themselves that they love smashed and swept away within my lifetime. I would love to see this happen in every industry and area of life, but if I can affect enough change within my own, then there will be a ripple effect outwards. If you change the stories and change the storytellers, the whole world changes with it.

So, how can I help to make that positive social change happen?

 

A Fully Accessible Creative Hub.

 

My dream is to found, co-own, run, live at and create work from a safe, secure and fully Accessible Creative Hub complete with its own:

 

On-Site Training Facilities

To help Disabled and other marginalised groups to gain access to good education, training and apprenticeships as appropriate to their chosen career. Be in front of or behind a camera, on stage or behind the scenes; cast, crew, teaching others or working in administrative roles.

• Lecture Theatres
• Dedicated Practice Space
• Workshop Space
• A Library, Research & Study Hub
• Access to Practical Work-Experience & Professional Facilities
• Intensive Summer Youth Schools
• Artist in Residence Opportunities
• And so much more…

 

Associated Performing Arts Companies

To create art of all kinds and tell the stories we want told through a whole variety of performance mediums – from music to dance, theatre to film and everything else. By no means confined to the Hub, these companies could go on tour with projects, work with other, outside companies and work on commissions as well as having access to a fantastic home base to create, practice and perform their art-forms from.

• A Professional Theatre Company
• A Professional Dance Company
• A Professional Orchestra
• A Professional Choir
• A Professional Circus Troupe
• A Student Theatre Company
• A Student Dance Company
• A Student Orchestra
• A Student Choir
• A Student Circus Troupe
• Summer Youth Programmes (working with all of the above)
• Plus smaller break-away companies, bands and troupes formed within the Hub by its resident creatives…

 

An Accessible Reperatory Theatre

A fully crewed and staffed Accessible Theatre space used for the Students, Professional Companies, Summer Youth Festivals and to Showcase Touring Work by other Performing Arts Companies relevant to the Hub’s ethos and interests, with:

• Several Types of Stage
• Dressing Rooms
• Technical Theatre Facilities
• Technical Theatre Practitioners
• Front of House Staff
• Live Performance Administrators
• Residencies
• Tours
• Festivals
• Residencies
• Open Calls for New Work from Choreographers, Playwrights and Performance Artists
• Restaurant, Bar & Cafe
• And everything else a thriving theatre needs to run smoothly…

 

An Accessible Media Production Studio

Telling stories and making films, music videos and television shows that fit into our ethos, hire-able by outside companies with diverse casts and crews (or who want to hire our in-house team) when not in use to create our own work:

• Sound Stages
• Backlots
• Dressing Rooms
• Scenography Workshops
• Wardrobe and Costume Workshops
• Props Workshops
• Film & Sound Editing Suites
• In-House Film & Television Crews
• Commissary
• And everything else a media production studio needs to excel…

 

An Accessible Music Production & Recording Studio

A place for our choirs, orchestras, bands and solo artists to record and release Albums and Scores for our Productions, be they for Stage or Screen. As well as a hire-able space when not in use for outside projects and solo-artists:

• Music and Vocal Recording Facilities
• Music Editing Suites
• Rehearsal Studios
• In-House Producers
• Producers in Residence Opportunities
• This is likely to be part of the larger Media Production Studio…

 

An Accessible Photography & Graphic Design Studio

Somewhere to take and edit promotional photos and other materials for all aspects of the Hub, including Performer’s Headshots, Album Covers and Posters:

• In-House Photographers
• Photographer Residency Opportunities
• Call-Outs for Freelance Photographers
• This is also likely to be part of the larger Media Production Studio…

 

An Accessible Cinema

Somewhere to showcase our screen work, teach students and host film festivals relevant to our ethos:

• Several Screens
• Front of House Staff
• A Restaurant, Bar & Café
• Festivals
• Film Clubs
• And everything else a small independent/art-house cinema needs to prosper…

 

Accessible Craft Workshops

Smaller studio units to let Students and Professional Artists, Crafters and Creatives create their own work alongside commissions made by our Production Studios:

• Small Studio Units (Individual, Group & Hot-Desk Hire)
• Residency Opportunities
• This is also likely to be part of the larger Media Production Studio…
• Or may be part of the Worker’s Village…

 

An Accessible Gallery & Exhibition Space

An exhibition space for Student Degree Shows, Artists in Residence to showcase their work and for both our in-house teams to use for solo or group shows and for outside artists whose work fits with our ethos to hire to exhibit their work:

• A Flexible Gallery Space
• A Restaurant, Bar & Café
• This is likely to be part of the Training Facilities…
• Or may be part of the Theatre and Cinema Complex…

 

A Creative Co-Operative Agency

A management company designed to help Disabled and other marginalised Creatives find work, not just in our Hub productions, but within the mainstream media:

• Professional Agents and Managers with Diversity & Accessibility Training
• Access to Facilities to Create Show Reels & Get Headshots Taken
• This will likely be one branch of the Admin Offices…

 

Accessible Admin Offices

Because none of these facilities or companies would run without a dedicated and trained Administrative team:

• General Management Team
• Education & Outreach Team
• Media Production Team
• Performing Arts Companies Team
• Festivals & Residencies Programming Team
• Theatre Team
• Cinema Team
• Gallery Team
• Studios Team
• Advertising & PR Team
• Artists’ Agency & HR Department
• Access Improvement Team
• Accommodations Team
• Legal Team
• And let’s not forget all the other vital support staff like nurses, carers, cleaning staff, hospitality staff, security and all the other teams not mentioned in this far from comprehensive or completed list…

 

Supported Living Accommodation & Worker’s Village

A supportive and fully Accessible Community either onsite or within a short distance of the Hub Complex to allow people to live as independently as possible; work from home and avoid tiring commutes which can be the difference between being able to work and study or not for many Disabled people (like me):

• Long-Term Homes for Year Round Residents
• Short-Term Accommodation for Creatives in Residency Programmes
• Temporary Accommodation for the Duration of Specific Projects/Festivals
• Student Accommodation
• Summer Lets for Summer Schools
• On-Call Care Staff
• Good Public Transport Links both to the Hub Complex and to/from the nearest town/city, Hospitals, Schools, supermarkets and other necessities
• A Park
• A Community Centre
• And whatever else the Community itself decides collectively that it needs to flourish…

 

Accessible Healthcare Facilities

With the NHS in regular crisis and the cost of private healthcare too steep for the majority of the UK population, health inequality is one of the major barriers for Disabled people getting into the workforce where getting the right treatment at the right time too often means the difference between recovering enough to work with the right accommodations and access and never being able to work again:

• Health Insurance as Standard for ALL Staff and their families
• Trained First-Aiders and Nurses in every part of the complex
• In-House Counselling Team
• Help to get the right Treatment & Care
• Onsite Gym
• Physiotherapists
• Personal Trainers
• Life Coaches
• Occupational Therapists
• A Hydrotherapy Pool
• An Ozone or Freshwater Pool (which allows Mermaiding)
• A Spa
• Dieticians, Nutritionists and Healthy Onsite Catering
• Basically, if you need it to be able to work safely and to your full potential in the Creative Industries, we’ll try our best to figure out how to make it happen together…

 

Accessible Childcare Facilities

Because everyone who wants to work, should be able to and if you choose to have children, a lack of access to good childcare shouldn’t be a barrier to achieving your career goals:

• Playgroup
• Nursery
• Babysitters for Community Residents & Part-Time Employees
• Community Groups for Stay-At-Home Partners of Hub Employees
• This is likely to be part of the Community Centre/Worker’s Village…

I want every single area of this Accessible Creative Hub Complex to be, well, Accessible to Disabled people with various mobility and living aids and other additional support needs and help others to Access work within the Creative Industries, but most especially, in ALL aspects of the Performing Arts. The idea would be to franchise the model so that there could be Accessible Creative Hubs all over the world. But first, ideally, I want to build one in Scotland and then grow it outward from there.

So what do I need to do to make Accessible Creative Hubs a reality?

 

A Whole Lot Of Resources!

For such a HUGE project, I would need a LOT of help and resources. I may be small, but my dreams are big and worth sharing with others who dream just as big as I do:

1. The Drive and Determination to Make It So
2. Relevant Experience, Authority and a Voice That People Listen To, To Get Things Done
3. Interested, Compassionate, Competent and Active Co-Founders, Collaborators and a Dedicated Core Project Team
4. Funding, Investment and my own Money to Build, Staff, Kickstart Our First Project and Advertise It
5. Land (in Scotland, ideally), a working Accessible Architectural Design and Planning Permission to Build It
6. The Actual, Physical Materials and Resources Needed to Build and Kit It Out
7. A First Project to Launch Once We Build It

And right now, I’m at Step 1, how can I get from there to Step 2 (we’ll worry about getting to Step 3 and onwards after I achieve that)?

 

Step 1 (December 2017 – As Yet Unknown Date)

And how to reach Step 2:

1. Discover My Purpose – DONE (See Above, Completed January 2018)
2. Focus on Personal Growth and Recovering from Being Unfit to Work Until (at least) 2020
3. Set SMARTER Goals to Get the Relevant Experience and Training I Am Currently Missing
4. Be Well Enough to Work Sustainably on My Career/Creative Practice to Support Myself and Gain Experience While Respecting My Body’s Limitations and Working With Instead of Against Them
5. Share My Story and Blog About My Work and Personal Encounters with (Lack of) Accessibility to Begin Building Authority on the Relevant Subjects

 

Step 2 (Unknown Date – Unknown Date)

And how to reach Step 3:

1. Never Lose That Drive and Determination to Make It Happen
2. Create Good Work Collaboratively and Build My Network
3. Have a Fantastic Career and Interdisciplinary Arts Practice Which I Am Proud of, Only Work on Projects I Believe In and/or that Make Me Happy
4. Use that Authority and Experience to Make Important Social Changes
5. Keep Sharing My Story and Help Create a Platform for Others to Share Theirs

 

Step 3 (Unknown Date – Unknown Date)

And how to reach Step 4:

1. Remain Focused on the Dream, But Flexible Enough to Improve or Modify It Over Time
2. Use My Network (and Their Networks) and My Authority/Voice to Gather a Passionate and Compassionate Management Team
3. Work With That Team To Set SMARTER Goals
4. Discover Our Company Ethos and Design a Prototype Model Together, Whatever That May Be
5. Begin Sharing Our Story, as well as My Own and Signal Boosting Those Belonging to Others

 

Step 4 (Unknown Date – Unknown Date)

And how to reach Step 5:

At this point, I cannot make any further specific decisions due to the nature of team work, but:

• Pool Funds
• Fundraise
• Approach Investors

 

Step 5 (Unknown Date – Unknown Date)

And how to reach Step 6:

At this point, I cannot make any further specific decisions due to the nature of team work, but:

• Design The Physical Space
• Buy Land
• Attain Planning Permission
• Continue to Fundraise and Approach Investors

 

Step 6 (Unknown Date – Unknown Date)

And how to reach Step 7:

At this point, I cannot make any further specific decisions due to the nature of team work, but:

• Resource Materials, Supplies, etc.
• Hire Contractors and Additional Team Members
• Build It
• Continue to Fundraise and Approach Investors

 

Step 7 (Unknown Date – Unknown Date)

At this point, I cannot make any further specific decisions due to the nature of team work, but:

• Decide on a Launch Project
• Advertise
• Hire Staff, Creatives, Crew and Audition Performers
• Open Applications for Training Programmes, Residencies, etc.
• Continue to Fundraise and Approach Investors
• Make it Happen, People It, Start Creating

 

“Be the Change you want to happen (in the world).” – Arleen Lorrance, The Love Principles.

I will update this post as I refine my Vision and complete steps. If you want to help make it happen, please Contact me.

#AccessAllAreas #AccessibleCreativeHub