Ashokkumar Mistry worries about neurodivergent and disabled people getting trapped into bubbles of virtue. Here he argues that bridge organisations could help them make better use of public arts funding.
As someone who has always been interested in the careers of artists who are neurodivergent (ND) and disabled, I worry about this group of artists getting stuck within bubbles of virtue. By this, I refer to careers being stifled by only finding opportunities within the ‘disability arts’ part of the arts sector and not being able to break out into the mainstream. Looking at the opportunities available to and lack of presence of disabled artists and artists of colour, there is great inequality in the arts and much of it is the result of ineffective policy that is wedded to the idea that shovelling more money and resources into the very organisations whose presence and practices create inequality will somehow create equality. I believe there is a funding model and approach to disability that could help pop these bubbles of virtue and build bridges for disabled artists to cross into the mainstream more consistently.
The funding dilemma
Lets face it, arts funding can be crudely split into two main strands: core funding (regular funding and open project funding streams) and initiatives (specialised time-limited funds designed to ‘make a difference’). However, upon analysis, the distribution and use of core funding is... Keep reading on Disability Arts Online.
As someone who has always been interested in the careers of artists who are neurodivergent (ND) and disabled, I worry about this group of artists getting stuck within bubbles of virtue. By this, I refer to careers being stifled by only finding opportunities within the ‘disability arts’ part of the arts sector and not being able to break out into the mainstream. Looking at the opportunities available to and lack of presence of disabled artists and artists of colour, there is great inequality in the arts and much of it is the result of ineffective policy that is wedded to the idea that shovelling more money and resources into the very organisations whose presence and practices create inequality will somehow create equality. I believe there is a funding model and approach to disability that could help pop these bubbles of virtue and build bridges for disabled artists to cross into the mainstream more consistently.
The funding dilemma
Lets face it, arts funding can be crudely split into two main strands: core funding (regular funding and open project funding streams) and initiatives (specialised time-limited funds designed to ‘make a difference’). However, upon analysis, the distribution and use of core funding is... Keep reading on Disability Arts Online.