Arts Beyond Ableism: Art, Education, and Social Justice
On 25 November 2023, the Arts Beyond Ableism conference took place at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. The event focused on the theme of unlearning ableism in the arts: how artists and educators can help counter biases against people with disabilities in art, education, and society.
Approximately 30 people are arranged in a circle in a studio with a white floor. Some are standing, others are sitting. In the center stands a light brown-skinned man with his arms extended forward and fingers pointing upward toward the participants. The surrounding participants have their arms extended towards him.
Two women are on a stage under theater lights, with musicians seated in the background. On the right stands a light brown-skinned woman with a small right hand, wearing glasses and a pink shirt, speaking into a microphone held in her left hand. To her left is a white woman in a green shirt, holding cards in both hands and smiling.
A white woman in grey clothing kneels on the floor among others, surrounded by gray flooring. She has a paper around her neck, a marker in her left hand, and a roll of tape in her right hand. Rolls of tape are scattered around her, with other participants in various positions on the floor working on something.
Background
Initiated by the ATD Lectorate and the Art Education research group, a group of ten art educators and researchers gathered to share their experiences in inclusive work practices. The meeting was so positive and inspiring that another meeting was organized. This led to the idea of sharing these experiences with a larger audience, resulting in the Arts Beyond Ableism conference. The conference was funded by the AHK’s Thematic Cooperation Programme (TCP). All event photos were taken by Thomas Lenden.
Inclusion in Art Classes
Discussions revolved around the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach to ensure equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of background, to participate in art and education. AHK teachers shared their experiences and ideas through various presentations and discussions, aiming to inspire and encourage others to be more inclusive in their art classes (view the entire program here).
Accessibility Note
The project team consulted an Accessibility Advisor to make both the production process and the event day as accessible as possible. This resulted in the Accessibility Note, available for download below. This document provides practical guidelines for visitors and outlines how the event was made more accessible. The Accessibility Note also serves as an example for other faculties, academies, and colleges to improve event accessibility and communication.
Retrospective and Program Overview
Exhibition Who cares? on the Mezzanine
Throughout the day, the exhibition "Who cares?" was on display, featuring a collection of drawings by ATD Teacher-Researcher, singer, and performer Mira Thompson. These drawings explore the experience of receiving care, bringing personal care moments and encounters to life in humorous, sequential stories. The exhibition challenges simplistic views of caregiving and receiving, showing the complexity and contradictions of needing care in daily life.
Keynote Presentation by Patty Berne (Sins Invalid)
The keynote presentation was delivered by Patty Berne from Sins Invalid. Sins Invalid is a performance project that supports and celebrates artists with disabilities, with a special focus on artists of color and LGBTQ+/gender variant artists. They explore themes such as sexuality and the disabled body, challenging traditional notions of 'normal' and 'sexy'. Patricia Berne, co-founder and director of Sins Invalid, has a background in trauma psychology and has been dedicated to various communities, including survivors of violence and immigrants. Their work aims to create space for marginalized voices. In 2020, Berne was awarded the Disability Futures Fellowship for their contributions to disability justice. Watch the keynote presentation here:
In 2015, Sins Invalid created a summary of the “10 Principles of Disability Justice”.
Discussion with Noli Kat
Following the keynote, a discussion with Noli Kat took place. Noli Kat is an ill artist: she struggles with mental health challenges. She works in poetry, prose, self-portraits, and performance art. In 2015, she interned with the performance project Disability Justice Sins Invalid.
Parallel Session 1
During the first parallel session, participants could choose between the video lesson "Access Intimacy" by Mira Thompson and Carly Everaert or the workshop "Doing Neurodiversity: Wayfaring Words" by Antje Nestel and Aster Arribas.
Video Lesson On Access Intimacy by Mira Thompson and Carly Everaert
The conference featured the video lesson On Access Intimacy," spoken in English and subtitled in Dutch, developed by costume designer and ATD teacher Carly Everaert and singer-songwriter and teacher Mira Thompson. Inspired by Disability Justice and Disability Studies, the lesson explores new ways of creating and learning from a disability perspective. It is designed for teachers and is the first in a series on disability in the (performing) arts.
Want to know more?
The film is available for free and includes a descriptive transcript and a "how to use" guide. Interested in watching the film? Please email Marilixe Beernink at marilixe.beernink@ahk.nl.
Read the interview with Mira: Artistic Research – New Pathways to New Knowledge?
Doing Neurodiversity: Wayfaring Words Workshop
Workshop facilitated by Antje Nestel and Aion Arribas
During the workshop Doing Neurodiversity: Wayfaring Words, Antje Nestel and Aion Arribas facilitated a unique approach to inclusion. They posed questions such as: What if we don't yet fully understand what inclusion is? What if inclusion isn't about welcoming the 'others,' such as neurodivergent people and individuals with disabilities, but rather about how we engage with tendencies often labeled as pathologies?
The workshop encouraged participants to reconsider inclusivity through 'wayfaring quotes,' a technique that highlighted neurodiverse words and thoughts. This included various forms of communication often overlooked, such as movement, texture, form, sound, vibration, and color. These synesthetic forms of communication were discussed in the context of their frequent rejection by normalized relationships.
Shy*play, a platform founded by Aion Arribas and Antje Nestel, was central to this workshop. This platform focuses on practicing neurodiversity as a relational practice of difference, rather than a process of normalization. They employed art-as-process and (un)learning techniques to create social bonds with their own values, beyond the conventions of normality and identification. Shy*play was supported by the ATD lectorate.
Want to learn more?
- Read the interview with Aion: Artistic research: New pathways to new knowledge?
- Learn more about Aion's teachers-researchers fellowship at the ATD research group.
- Antje and Aion are the first duo to participate in THIRD's Group of Companions 6.
- Read more about Antje and Aion's research: Shy*Play.
A white woman with short white hair and dressed in black stands on a grey floor. She holds strands of purple wool in her hands. Her right hand is raised diagonally, while her left hand is positioned in front of her stomach. Sheets of paper and colored wool threads are scattered on the ground, with a black curtain hanging in the background.
A white woman wearing a green sweater and a black face mask holds a cut-out paper garland in front of her face, reaching down to the floor. She sits in a wheelchair and has colorful bracelets on her right wrist. Papers are on her lap. In the background, stacked chairs and a black curtain can be seen.
A white non-binary person with shoulder-length hair and glasses reads from a book. They are wearing a lavender tracksuit jacket and T-shirt, with headphones around their neck and holding a microphone to their mouth with their left hand. Blue curtains hang in the background.
Concert My Music Ability: Inclusive Composing
After the parallel session, there was a plenary concert presentation of the Artist in Residence (AIR) project with Drake Music Scotland, held in the three days preceding the symposium at the CvA. Drake Music Scotland, an award-winning arts organization, focuses on inclusive music practices, enabling musicians and composers with disabilities to learn, create, perform, and participate in creative processes. Music technology plays a key role. The concert presentation introduced visitors to the project and showcased the world premiere of the music created by the inclusive ensemble of students and guest musicians.
Four women sit on a stage under theatrical lighting. In the middle is a white woman with Down syndrome. She is wearing a beige sweater and sitting with her legs pulled up on a chair, playing her violin with a music stand in front of her. The white woman to her right is leaning towards her. To her left, a white woman in a yellow blouse has her violin resting on her lap with the bow raised in her left hand. Behind her stands a light brown-skinned woman wearing a pink sweater and glasses.
A white boy in a light grey sweater sits next to two white women. He is in a wheelchair with red upholstery and has a purple cushion under his right foot. He has a small stature and is laughing with his neck stretched back. His left hand rests on the lap of the woman next to him, and his right wrist is bent and tense in front of him. The white woman to his left has shoulder-length hair and wears glasses. She is smiling. To his right, a white woman with dark hair and a light pink shiny blouse has a guitar on her lap and is also smiling. Two people are seated behind them.
A boy with light brown skin kisses a light brown woman on her cheek. He has an intellectual disability. He is wearing a red short-sleeved shirt and has his arm in a cast with a sling around his neck. The woman is smiling and wears a burgundy headscarf and a black blouse.
Parallel Session 2
During the second parallel session, participants could choose between the workshop with RDM DanceLab and Damar Lamers or the workshop My Music Ability by Debby Korfmacher and Melissa Bremmer.
RDM DanceLab and Damar Lamers
ReDiscoverMe DanceLabs focus on rediscovering the body and its possibilities through movement, both individually and together. Their group of amateur and (semi)professional dancers, with and without chronic illness or physical challenges, worked intensively on a dynamic and inclusive dance piece. After the presentation, they moved with the audience in a playful and accessible way, celebrating the power of dance.
DANCE is for EVERYONE! The ReDiscoverMe Foundation contributes to an inclusive dancing Netherlands with dance projects for everyone, especially vulnerable groups, including those with chronic illness or physical challenges.
Want to know more?
Read Damar Lamers' research with the Art Education research group: May I Have This Dance? Exploring Inclusive Dance Education for Participants with MS and Parkinson’s.
A white woman with blonde hair holds a microphone to her chest. Next to her is a white woman with dark blonde hair in a wheelchair. Behind them, eight people stand with their feet hip-width apart. In the background, black curtains and a white screen with red light projected onto it can be seen.
A brown-skinned bald woman stands on a grey floor in a spotlight. Her knees are bent, and she holds her hands in front of her with bent elbows. She wears a dark blue t-shirt with purple long sleeves underneath and black pants. She stands in front of someone in a wheelchair. To her left is a person facing away from us, and behind her are two white women. They all wear the same dark blue t-shirt with a print on it.
On the right, a white woman in a dark blue t-shirt stands with her right arm bent above her head and her left arm bent in front of her stomach. To her left, four people sit in chairs and wheelchairs, and one person stands. The background is black, and the floor is light grey, with theatrical lighting directed at them.
Workshop My Music Ability by Debby Korfmacher and Melissa Bremmer
This workshop presented the steps taken by the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) to integrate inclusive music education into the curriculum, with Artist-in-Residence programs playing a crucial role. The CvA collaborated with leading arts organizations like Drake Music London and Drake Music Scotland to work with students. These organizations offer opportunities for people with disabilities and additional support needs by integrating music technology. The workshop discussed the lessons learned from these collaborations and how they have contributed to the development of projects and elective courses on inclusive music education at the CvA.
Want to know more?
Following the Artist-in-Residence project My Music Ability, project leader Debby Korfmacher (CvA) and Melissa Bremmer (professor Art Education) conducted research on Encountering Disability in Music. They discuss their findings with musician Karin van Dijk in the podcast Art Education Spotlight. Listen to the podcast here.
The (English) academic article on the research Encountering Disability in Music is available for free. Read the article here.
Want to know more about previous AIR projects?
In 2018, Drake Music was the Artist in Residence, and the My Music Ability conference took place. Read the report here.
In 2021, the second edition of My Music Ability: Music for Everyone was held, showcasing how music making and experiencing is possible for everyone. Read the report here.
In 2023, the AIR project My Music Ability: Inclusive Composing took place at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Read the report here.
Two white women with brown hair stand in a classroom. The woman in front is dressed in black and holds both index fingers up in front of her while speaking. The woman to her right wears a dark green shirt and snaps the fingers of her left hand, which she holds bent in front of her. Behind them, there is an interactive whiteboard with vertical stripes in various colors, a laptop on a music stand, and an empty chair.
Publications on this topic
ArtsSciences Unlocked. Melissa Bremmer, Emiel Heijnen & Sanne Kersten (2022)