During a visit to Cambodia in 2012, I unexpectedly stumbled across Epic Arts and now, 12 months later, I find myself employed as the Arts Advisor and Senior Manger for the Cambodia office and I have no plans to leave just yet. So what was so special about Epic Arts that made me leave my job, my home and my family to move half way around the world to be a part of it? I believe it was Epic Art's unique attitude and approach to creating an inclusive society through the arts that drew me in.
“Epic Arts is an inclusive arts organisation that brings together people with and without disabilities.Epic Arts is unique in working both in the UK and internationally, and across art forms. In all the countries we work in we use the arts as a form of expression and empowerment, and to create a dialogue within those cultures around disability issues.” (www.epicarts.org.uk)
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| A dancer from the inclusive arts team 'Epic Encounters' leads a workshop in a rural village |
Since 2007, Epic Arts has been using the phrase ‘inclusive arts’ and I want to explore what this means in reality at Epic Arts Cambodia through this Masters project. I want to delve in to the hearts and minds of the people who deliver, participate in and who are affected by the inclusive arts work that Epic Arts does, in order that I may be able to clearly identify the inclusive arts vision of the organisation. Further more I want to share these findings and practices with corresponding organisations and higher education departments in the UK in order to widen the discourse of inclusive arts in the UK and to further inform the practices of Epic Arts and those of the UK partners we connect with.
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| Epic Encounters performing 'Moto Moto' in Phnom Penh |
This project will be a two-part process of discovery; starting with an in-depth investigation at Epic Arts Cambodia, that will explore the approaches to inclusive arts that are used on a daily basis. This will be followed by a tour of 15 congruous organisations and Universities in the UK, with a team of artists from Epic Arts Cambodia. On this tour further research will be carried out at the organisations and Universities; practices will be shared though presentations, that I will deliver, and this be will accompanied by workshops and performances from the professional ‘Epic Encounters’ performance team from Epic Arts Cambodia.
Through this project, I hope to clearly identify the vision of Epic Arts and it’s approaches to inclusive arts and to share and compare the vision and approaches with UK organisations and Universities, with the same outlook, in order to add to the current dialogue in inclusive arts. I also hope to make strong long-term partnerships with the organisations we visit, allowing for exchanges, further research and work placements or study opportunities in the future for all involved.
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| In inclusive arts team, Epic Encounters, delivering a workshop in Phnom Penh |
As well as introducing you to my project in this blog, I also want to give you some background on Epic Arts:
Where did Epic Arts, Cambodia come from?
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Epic Arts is an international, inclusive arts NGO that was founded in
2001 in the UK, with its first project taking place in China. In 2003, Epic Arts opened a small office in
Kampot, Cambodia, when one of the founders, Katie MaCabe moved to the country. She
established the Epic Arts Café, which acted as an example of an inclusive
working environment employing both disabled and non-disabled people from the local
community of Kampot. The small room above the café became a place for the first
inclusive arts workshops that Epic Arts delivered. In 2008 Epic Arts produced
SPOTLIGHT: An
Asian Festival of Inclusive Arts, which was a multi-arts
programme that brought together people of all abilities in South East Asia within
a mainstream arts festival environment. The festival aimed to,
“….promote integration of people of
all abilities and disabilities through utilising the arts as a form of
expression and empowerment.” (Spotlight: An Asian Festival of
Inclusive Arts. Final Report 2008)
In 2009, Epic Arts received funding to build a fully accessible arts
centre in Kampot, which was the first of its kind in South East Asia. The centre housed a
vocational training programme in the arts for students with disabilities and
also a Special Education programme for children and young adults with learning difficulties.
It was also the hub for a number of community arts projects in the area, which
brought disabled and non-disabled people together through Dance, Drama and Art
workshops and performances in the local community. Through the centre and the
training programme, Katie MaCabe was successful in starting to succeed in her
mission,
“…to change public attitudes by training and
showcasing disabled performing artists”, through “engaging both disabled and
able-bodied children in physical theatre, shadow puppetry and arts and crafts.”(Turnball.
2008)
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| Epic Encounters performing 'Moto Moto' in a rural village |
When I first
visited Cambodia in August 2012 and attended the open day at the Epic Arts
Centre. I was struck by the ‘inclusiveness’ of the place, the people and the
work being produced. This was not just about ‘integrating’ disabled people in
to a non-disabled environment, but was a fully inclusive working and learning
environment. The motto of Epic Arts is ‘Every Person Counts’ which was never
truer than in the centre I visited. From the students, to the teachers, and from
the cleaning staff to the office staff there was true inclusion at every turn
and the arts based work being produced and delivered was of the same vain.
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| Epic Encounters perform 'Sit with Me' on a roof top stage in Phnom Penh |
During
my time so far at Epic Arts in Cambodia, I have been witness to a multitude of inclusive
practices on a daily basis and I have watched students with and without
disabilities join the new Inclusive Arts Course at Epic and seen their development and their
inclusive arts practices grow over the last year. It is in this context now that I wish to
discover what essentially is at the core of the work Epic Arts does and discover where as a UK
based charity, does it fit within the current conversations surrounding inclusive
arts practices in the UK?
Epic
Arts Cambodia and its performance and workshop team ‘Epic Encounters’ is
planning to tour the UK in 2014 and I have been asked by the UK Board of
Trustees to complete this piece of academic research to accompany the proposed
tour.
What does Epic Arts do in Cambodia?
In Cambodia, Epic Arts has 3 main areas of work:
Inclusive Education
Community Arts
Social Enterprise
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| Epic Arts workshop participants in a rural village in Cambodia |
Inclusive Education Programme
Epic Arts believes that every person counts and as an inclusive arts NGO, Epic promotes this message through the inclusive education programme in Cambodia which consists of the Inclusive Arts Course and the Special Education Project
Inclusive Arts Course (IAC)
Students from the deaf, disabled and
non-disabled community are studying a Arts based education program in Dance,
Theatre, Art and Literacy. Epic hope the IAC students will become advocates for a more inclusive society in the
Future.
Special Education Project
(SEP)
The
Special Education Project offers creative and educational programs to children and
young people with learning disabilities in Kampot. The daily classes help students
develop life skills, participate in creative arts, learn literacy and numeracy,
and develop friendships. There are two groups – Peace Class and Independence Class
Community Arts Programme
Epic Arts provides a wide range
of free activities for the local community and believes in spreading the
message that every person counts to the villages and communes beyond the walls of Epic Arts Centre.
Weekly Community activities:
Epic provides weekly movement classes for students with learning disabilities held each week at the Epic Arts Centre. There are two classes for two different age groups
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| A Epic workshop leader works with a student with learning difficulties |
A free sign language class is open to the local community and visitors
to Kampot. The class is held in the upstairs lounge of the Epic Café every week.
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| Epic's Cambodian Sign Language interpreter teaching a weekly class |
Other Community activities:
Epic provides workshops in movement, drama art in rural communities free of charge for the participants. These workshops are used to teach about disability and also educate Cambodian people on key issues such as health.
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| Workshop participants in a rural village share what they have created |
Bespoke community performances from our professional team are delivered in rural villages and at large scale community events locally and nationally free of charge and encourage the understanding and acceptance of disabilities as well as educating people about key issues in Cambodia.
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| A performance from the Epic Encounters team in Battambang, Cambodia |
Social Enterprise Programme
Epic Arts want to be sustainable
and not rely purely on donor funding. The profits from the small businesses that are part of this programme are reinvested into Epic to help the work to continue
Epic Encounters
Is the first fully inclusive contemporary performance company in South East Asia.
Epic Encounters –
Performances
The Epic Encounters performers create dance and theatre based on
issues facing Cambodia and perform them for the community and international
audiences
Epic Encounters – Workshops
The Epic Encounters team deliver inclusive arts workshops
throughout Cambodia and abroad to children and adults.
Epic Arts Café
A
model for an inclusive working environment within the community, serving food
and drink to travellers, expats and locals alike
Creative Enterprise Programme
A learning programme for students, staff and the community, which
provides basic education and simple skills for creative business development.
Products developed on the programme are sold under the ‘Epic Creations’ brand and
profits go back in to Epic’s programmes.
Thank you for reading, please do leave a comment or contact me directly for more information or discussion:
laura@epicarts.org.uk
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