Training for Artists

DIY has developed a range of training for practitioners and cultural organisations in areas such as creative evidencing and inclusive practice.

Photo: training

DIY runs workshops for students of Applied Theatre and Disability Studies at a number of universities including University of Salford and University of Manchester.

Four by Eight is DIY’s unique training and development opportunity for musicians wanting to develop their inclusive music skills, working in partnership with leaders with lived experience of learning disability. Selected musicians will develop their skills and knowledge in working with music inclusively with children and young people with learning disabilities. Four by Eight will run from March 2022 to the Spring of 2023, see our news items from February ’22 and October ’22 for more information.

In September 2021 our Passing the Baton* Young Leaders worked with the National Youth Theatre’s Inclusive Practice Collective to help shape NYT’s work to ensure sensory learners and learners with PMLD can be included. In March 2022 a group of Young Leaders  visited Chethams School of music to share ideas around inclusive approaches to music.

*Passing the Baton was a 3 year DIY programme, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, which ended in 2022 – click to see the report

We have also created and presented at a number of conferences. This includes

  • The Creative Minds North Conference in Manchester in 2017, where we collaborated with The Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company to run workshops around issues of Quality in Learning Disability Arts.
  • A Question of Leadership Conference at Liverpool Hope University in 2018 – please visit our Research and Conferences page for more information on this.

Training days

DIY training session for drama workers and other creative practitioners.

It was great to find out how DIY operates and the kind of emerging practitioners you want to work with. I found the structure of DIY very interesting and really liked how the people that the theatre was for were front and centre of leading the activities.”

Feedback from our Emerging Artist Training day in February 2021

picture from our Sharing the Space training day

In June 2018 DIY ran our very first training session for drama workers and other creative practitioners – ‘Sharing the Space!’ This proved to be a fantastic opportunity for members of DIY Theatre Company to share our experiences of creating multi-sensory, interactive and accessible theatre for young people with a range of learning disabilities.

In February 2021 we ran another training and development opportunity, this time aimed at emerging artists interested in developing their inclusive practice. This included:

  • A free day’s training with DIY company members, via Zoom.
  • Bespoke mentoring and one to one training with DIY Practitioners and our Access Coordinator.
  • The opportunity to be added to DIY’s pool of Associate Artists and Supporters.

Throughout these training days participants work closely with company members to understand the techniques and principles we use at DIY and to explore how they could use them within their own practice.

We had some very positive feedback from participants:

You created such an open environment which allowed us the freedom to experiment and ask questions. I loved having the opportunity to work with DIY cast members in the break out groups”

Great friendly atmosphere, role modelling, handing over leadership to LD adults

Loved the practical elements during the afternoon. Fab sharing of the space.

It made me realise how you can achieve. To keep an open mind on the different things you can do

It has given me confidence that a programme could be developed in which learning disabled adults could deliver for the benefit of learning disabled young people

Thank you for such a valuable, inclusive and inspiring event