A Collaborative Vision for Inclusive Arts and Culture in Salford
DIY Theatre and Proud and Loud Arts; Collaborating to ensure the voices of disabled people are heard within the development of Salford’s Cultural Strategy
Artists from both DIY Theatre and Proud and Loud Arts have important things to say about arts and culture in Salford. We have been working together to make sure that disabled peoples’ experiences and views, become central to the development of cultural planning in Salford.
This exciting collaboration is being funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It began in June 2024 with a series of exploratory sessions and will be completed by March 2025. The first stage of the initiative took place over the summer, using movement and film for creative expression. Scroll down to read about the process and how our members found it and see some of the amazing images captured along the way!
Image Credit: Phil Smethurst
Summer Project: Movement and Film
In August 2024, DIY artists Anna, Cathy, Amy, Paul, and Robert joined up with Proud and Loud Arts and Company Chameleon for a fantastic creative collaboration. Proud and Loud Arts creates work that focuses on challenging audiences, pushing artistic boundaries and raising expectations. Company Chameleon makes original, inspiring dance theatre in Manchester and performs across the UK and the world.
The first week of the project was based at the New Adelphi Building at the University of Salford. There, DIY artists worked with Company Chameleon’s co-artistic director, Kevin Edward Turner and five artists from Proud and Loud Arts. Together, we co-created a series of movement sections that explored everyones thoughts, feelings and experiences of Salford’s cultural spaces.
The full group then created a collaborative poem, which highlighted their reflections on arts and culture in Salford and provided a starting point for movement. Images of creative places in Salford were also introduced as stimulus, for creative exploration. The group discussed what needs to be in place, for disabled people to have positive experiences when visiting creative spaces. As well as what happens when these things are not in place.
Towards the end of the week, the group worked with Phil Smethurst from Manchester Lights Media to record the poem and movement sections in different spaces around the university. Everyone was thinking about how the dance work could be filmed in different locations.
Image Credit: Phil Smethurst
In the second week, the movement pieces created at New Adelphi were performed in cultural venues across Salford. These places included Salford Museum and Art Gallery, The Lowry, Media City, Walk the Plank, Ordsall Hall, Eccles Library, and START therapeutic gardens.
At each location, both DIY and Proud and Loud artists, worked with Kevin and Phil to rehearse and film the dance pieces created during the previous week. These included a fun, energetic group piece to “Proud Mary” by Tina Turner, as well as more intimate solos and small group sections around each location.
Everyone involved in the project is very proud of the beautiful, powerful, and thought-provoking film they created. They are excited to continue moving forward with this important initiative!
What DIY members said about the Summer Project?
I like the way Kevin took it in stages and like showed us what to do beforehand and then he left us to come up with our own ideas – Amy, Summer Project Participant
Image Credit: Phil Smethurst
I liked it because it was in a different venue and it was really nice environment. I thought everybody supported each other and like helped each other out if people were getting stuck – Robert, Summer Project Participant
Proud and Loud have got skills that I’ve not got and I’ve got skills what Proud and Loud have not got – so we were skill-sharing – Amy, Summer Project Participant
Image Credit: Phil Smethurst
It made me feel really happy and it was quite a joyful experience – Robert, Summer Project Participant
What Next?
The wonderful film created during the project, offers a vision of the Salford we would like to see in the future. A vision where access and inclusion are central to the development of Salford’s cultural policy.
In the Autumn, artists from DIY and Proud and Loud will be sharing this film with groups of disabled people in Salford; exploring responses to the work and opening up creative conversations around the issues it raises.
As part of this, DIY leaders will co-lead six workshops with adults and young people with lived experience of learning disability, from across the city.
Phil will work with artists from DIY and Proud and Loud once again, to create a “process film” that documents the project journey. This will raise key questions about disabled peoples’ experiences and perspectives on art and culture.
DIY Theatre Company and Proud and Loud Arts look forward to sharing these films with communities, artists and strategic leaders in Salford. Together, we are working towards our collective aim of ensuring that disabled peoples’ experiences and views become central to the development of cultural planning in Salford.
Image Credit: Phil Smethurst
Image Credit: Phil Smethurst
This project is being funded by the Arts and Culture Fund Managed by Salford CVS on behalf of Salford City Council; monies from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund via Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
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