
Making space for artistry - equity for disabled artists and artists who are Sign Language users
"I've been working as a musician and music producer for almost 25 years, and I can say that as a blind person, it's not easy. In the field of arts and culture, the gatekeepers need to make bolder choices and present new talents to audiences. As a musician, when you can do the right things, you can show that you are on the same level. Equality isn't about kindness or occasional acts of pity," says Mikko Herranen, a well-known face also from the TV program Voice of Finland. He is a singer, an instrumentalist, a mixer and a producer.
The aim of the project Making space for artistry - equity for disabled artists and artists who are Sign Language users is to promote equal working opportunities for disabled artists and artists who are Sign Language users in the field of arts and culture.
Opportunities that can be taken for granted by many artists, such as to pursuing an arts education or applying for grants, are not often possible for disabled artists and artists who are Sign Language users. Disabled artists do not have the equal chance to develop as artists, or at the very least, doing so requires much more perseverance from disabled artists than from their non-disabled peers.
Barriers include, for instance, the lack of role models, lack of accessibility, and the prevalent attitudes within the art field. Gatekeepers - funders, curators, critics, and providers of art education - need more information about accessibility and the work of disabled artists.
In the project we will:
- organize a more accessible artist residency, artists' solo exhibitions, and a group exhibition with the Aine Art Museum
- organize peer meetings and workshops for artists
- organize mentor-mentee collaborations
- promote accessibility in entrance exams and art studies in collaboration with the Tampere University's Degree Programme in Theatre Arts (Näty).
- make the perspectives of disabled artists visible to art funders, and give trainings to funders on accessibility in collaboration with the Association of Finnish Foundations.
- train art critic's about disability and the arts in collaboration with the Finnish Critics' Association SARV and strengthen connections between critics and disabled artists
- create networks with the curator field and strengthen connections between curators and disabled artists
- enhance the visibility of disabled artists and artists who are Sign Language users by creating a printed publication that deepens the conversation about the artists' work
The project is carried out by the Culture for All Service and funded by the Kone Foundation.
The project started in spring 2022 and will end in spring 2024.
Read more about the work done within the project and the results on the website www.tilaataiteilijuuteen.fi.
Partners:
- Kulttuuriyhdistys Suomen EUCREA ry - Cultural Association Finland's EUCREA, an association for and by disabled artists
- Aine Art Museum
- the Finnish Critics' Association SARV
- the Association Finnish Foundations
- Tampere University's Degree Programme in Theatre Arts (Näty)
Contact information:
Maija Karhunen
project manager, Culture for All Service
maija.karhunen@cultureforall.fi
Phone:+358 40 166 2827