I was recently contacted by Joanna Offer from the University of Brighton about contributing to a book about Inclusive Arts. I was very honoured to be asked, as I had heard about the creation and development of this book last year when I was discussing my work at Epic Arts with Alice Fox, Principal Lecturer and Assistant Head in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University.
Alice had told me that she had been commissioned by the Arts Council England to edit an Inclusive Arts book, which she felt was very much needed due to the limited amount of information published about Inclusive Arts.
Off the back of this blog, Joanna had decided that she would like a quote from me regarding a particular question for the final chapter of the book. I was very happy to contribute, not only was I eager to share my thoughts and ideas about Inclusive Arts, but I could also see the potential of how being included in a book of this kind would also raise the profile of Epic Arts itself.
The question I was asked to comment on was:
"What would you hope for the future of Inclusive Arts?"
I thought long and hard about the question and it was difficult to narrow down exactly what my hopes were in both the long and short term. I felt that there were so many possibilities for the development of Inclusive Arts in the future, so to melt these down to a few sentences certainly took a few drafts.
Essentially my overall feeling about Inclusive Arts is that it should be the way that the arts works and the way that people think in the future. Below is my final answer and also the images I sent to be possibly included in the book as well:
What would you hope for the future of Inclusive Arts?
“Through its work in
Cambodia, Epic Arts has seen first hand that inclusive arts has a
transformative power for change within society. I hope that in the future,
inclusive arts will affect society as a whole by
discussing the attitudes we must cultivate in order to create a truly inclusive
world in which we can all live. I hope to see inclusive arts become the blueprint for all arts
communities, not a just specialized area, but the way that all arts ‘just is’;
a sector that is inspiring, accepting, adaptable and a true celebration and
expression of individual creativity in all its forms.”
Laura Evans - Arts Advisor and Senior Manger. Epic Arts. Cambodia
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| A student from the Special Education Project doing an art project with his teacher |
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| Students from the Inclusive Arts Course in a dance workshop |
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| Students from the Inclusive Arts Course in a dance workshop |
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| A student from the Special Education Project joining an art project |
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| Students from the Inclusive Arts Course in a dance workshop |
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